Wooing Miss Shannon
by Lynx Larabellows
Summary: Mark Reynolds has just found the one woman in the world that his heart desires. He intends to get to know her slowly, to treat her as she deserves to be treated, and therefore has decided to pursue her as a gentleman would: by courting her like a lady.
1. Miss Shannon

**Chapter One  
><strong>_Miss Shannon_

Marcus Reynolds was not usually a morning person. His bedroom was always kept dark, his curtains drawn so he could rest in complete darkness, and he always tried to sleep in as much as possible since he his shifts varied from morning to afternoon, and even on certain occasions, the graveyard shift. Today was the odd exception.

For some unfathomable reason he had woken at least an hour before his alarm was set to go off.

Mark had lain on his bed for at least ten minutes before forcing himself out of bed, groaning the entire time. He took his pain medication for the lingering aches he had received during a recent fight, and contemplated doing a few light exercises with the bunching bag installed in his living room since Alicia had banned him from entering the gym before deciding it wasn't worth the effort.

Likewise his guitar was still resting beside his bed from when he had played the night before, various compositions of the song he was attempting to perfect strewn around the room. He had been inspired to write due to the young woman who had captured his attention days before, and just thinking of her now sent a rush of excitement through his veins.

Mark idly wondered if she was as excited to think about him as he was about her. It seemed as though his every thought revolved around the fascinating Madelyn Shannon ever since he first laid eyes on her, and no matter how hard he tried to pursue other thoughts, he always gravitated back to her the moment he saw something he thought she might like.

Commander Taylor had certainly been amused with him the previous night, when Mark had asked him for advice on how to court a woman. He flushed even now; recalling how gob smacked the older man had looked at his choice of words. Mark knew that courting was not a modern notion, and in fact the only reason he even knew what it meant was because of his mother's fondness for old fashioned romances.

Diana Reynolds had instilled in him a deep respect for women from a young age, and his mother had clearly influenced how he wanted to pursue his affections. He knew she would have approved wholeheartedly in both his approach and of the young lady herself.

Commander Taylor had clearly been baffled by his odd request, though Mark really had no one else to rely upon for advice. He supposed he could have turned to the commander's better half for insight; if he wanted to humiliate himself even more, that is.

Alicia had yet to seriously poke fun at him for his crush on Madelyn, but he was under no illusion that his self-appointed big sister would just sit idly by and watch him flounder without a few jabs at his expense. She was just biding her time, waiting for him to let his guard down, and he would in no way be offering her more ammunition for when she ultimately struck like the snake she was.

Therefore Mark had been left with no other choice but to consult the commander. He respected the older man, and Taylor had been married once before so Mark assumed that he had to have some idea how to romance a woman. He had not anticipated, however, what his request would eventually cause.

Mark was aware that his peers did not treat women as delicately as they should be treated. He could rarely recall an occasion in the gym where he had overheard his fellow soldiers speaking about the girls they pursued as little more than conquests for their own amusement.

It sickened him, how they play games and toy with hearts like that. As far as he had known, though, the commander had a sixth sense of everything that went on within the walls of Terra Nova. Taylor obviously knew about the illegal gambling that went on in Boylan's bar, and he let it slide, and the man always seemed to know when someone was doing something they shouldn't.

Apparently, Mark had been mistaken, because when the older man had inquired why he could not turn to one of his non-existent friends for advice on the matter and Mark expressed his reluctance to seek advice from men who treat women like that… well, to say that Commander Taylor had been angry would be an understatement.

Commander Taylor had thanked him for bringing it to his attention, an aura of fury shrouding him as he had stomped off toward Mark's own house without another word. He had followed the other man warily, arriving on his porch just in time to hear Taylor repeat his own words back to Alicia, who took them as well as to be expected.

Hell hath no fury like a pissed off Alicia Washington.

Needless to say Mark had not received his advice, though he was expecting an upheaval within the ranks about conduct with civilians soon. He was absolutely dreading it, already imagining being singled out by every one of his peers for being a snitch… even if he was secretly pleased that something was sure to be done about it.

Still at square one on the courting front, Mark brushed his teeth and got dressed quickly, his feet leading down the familiar street before he even realized he had left the house. He was too immersed with trying to figure out what to say to her exactly, because she made him nervous as hell, and he usually got distracted by her mere presence to actually form coherent words.

_Good morning! How are you?_ Too generic—he may as well be speaking to his neighbor.

_I was just walking by on my way to work, and I wanted to see how you were doing after last night?_ Too risky—work was the totally opposite direction from her house and he would eventually have to head that way.

_I love the way you smile, and I just had to see it once this morning before I head off to sit in front of a security monitor for four hours until my shift is over._ Not a snowballs chance in the scorching fires of hell. Too personal, and way, _way_ too intense, especially for someone he had just met… no matter just how true it was.

_Hello Maddy, you look nice today. _Compliments could work but he would have to drop the name because, like the idiot he was, he had still forgotten to introduce himself and he absolutely not going to reveal to her just how he learned her name without being introduced. Although he knew her surname; that was a plus.

_Good morning, Miss Shannon… _

_Miss Shannon._ Mark smiled to himself as he quickened his pace. It was perfect. Personal without being invasive, polite though somewhat charming, just like the novels his mother used to read… at least he hoped it was. Maybe it was one of those things that sounded way better in his head but… her house was directly in front of him now, and he was out of time to consider more options.

Never before had the prospect of knocking on a door seemed so daunting to him. Mark stared at it as if it were some foreboding object, a lump forming in the back of his throat as reality suddenly reminded him that it was an ungodly hour, and all sane people were probably still asleep.

Madelyn was probably safe and sound, tucking into her bed on the floor.

Disheartened by this revelation, Mark groaned to himself at his own stupidity, and turned his heel to leave. What had he been thinking? The sun itself had only just risen, how on earth could he have expected her to be awake right now? Even his alarm had yet to go off to remind him he had to be at work soon, and it usually took him less than eight minutes to get ready and report to his station.

Mark rubbed at his face and he left her porch, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he trudged away with his shoulders hunched. He froze in place suddenly, however, when he heard a shuffling behind him as well as the distinctive sound of a door opening and closing.

Peering over his shoulder, Mark felt his eyes widen involuntarily at the sight of James Shannon exiting the house. _Oh hell. _He had not really interacted with the man, save for a brief encounter last night when Mark had been thanked for watching over Madelyn and Zoe while he and Mrs. Shannon had been off the colony to retrieve their wayward son.

Yet that was all it took for Mark to become afraid of the man.

Jim Shannon certainly seemed like a nice guy, and honestly, had had yet to do anything to instill such a fear… but he just had this _vibe. _Mark could not explain it, but when Mr. Shannon had shook his hand last night he had the distinctive feeling that he was being sized up by the man.

It was as if all of his past indiscretions and mistakes had all been laid bare for scrutiny, and he was absolutely sure that Mr. Shannon _knew. _He just _knew _that Mark was interested in his daughter. So, yeah, Mr. Shannon had been on the list of people he would like to avoid first thing in the morning but now… well, simply put: he was screwed.

Mark turned reluctantly, giving the older man a hesitant smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "Hello, Mr. Shannon," he greeted, inwardly wincing at just how weak his voice sounded. That combined with his timid stance probably made him seem pathetic, and wasn't that just a great way to make an impression on her father?

"Hi," Mr. Shannon replied, his voice puzzled. "You were here last night, with my girls." It was not a question, though Mark nodded anyway. "… Reynolds, right?"

Mark swallowed his nerves. "Yes, sir,"

Mr. Shannon frowned, studying him dissecting eyes. "What are you doing here now?"

Mark's eyes widened at the inquiry. _Uh oh… _He had never been more petrified of answering a question in his life. He could lie and say it was a coincidence. No, wait… he couldn't lie. Mr. Shannon was a lawman and he would _know_ that he was lying to him. What a great way to endear himself to the man; lying to him the first time they ever have a conversation.

"I… uh," Mark cleared his throat nervously. "I came to see how your daughter—daughters," he corrected quickly, paling when he noticed the narrowing of critical eyes. "How your _daughters… _were holding up after last night. She—_they, _they were pretty upset with everything that was happening…. sir,"

At every floundered word Mr. Shannon's eyebrows raised a fraction, and by the end of his explanation, they had practically risen to his hairline, leaving his forehead in wrinkles. Mark closed his eyes briefly in embarrassment as he awaited the man's judgment, his stomach in knots and a nervous sweat trickling down his neck.

"Okay," Mr. Shannon said, drawing out the word for a long moment as he scratched the back of his head. His eyes revealed nothing, though he jerked his head back slightly toward the closed door behind him. "Everyone is asleep at the moment," Of course they were. "Except for my oldest daughter,"

Mark was sure the man noticed the sudden straitening of his spine. "I…"

Mr. Shannon did not allow him to reply, cutting him off with a disarming smile. "She will probably be out in a minute, but I have to leave right now to meet Lieutenant Guzman." His smile tightened nearly imperceptibly. "He's issuing me my very own _firearm_ today."

Mark had the inexplicable urge to take a hasty step away, his eyes widening in alarm. He wondered if there was a veiled threat behind the casually spoken words. He certainly felt threatened by them, especially when Mr. Shannon moved forward and clapped his back almost jovially as he passed him, wincing with shock as the hand came into contact with sharply with his rigid shoulder.

"See you later, kid,"

Mark could not bring himself to say anything in return, watching with wide eyes as he departed. _Holy shit… _He exhaled a ragged breath, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes as he tried to remember how to breathe. His heart was racing, pounding a fierce rhythm against his ribs.

Was he afraid of Mr. Shannon? Nope.

Mark was absolutely not _scared_ of Jim Shannon—there were no words to describe how freaking _terrified_ he was of the man. Every single word the man had spoken was now ingrained into his memory, and he was horrified to realize that he would probably be seeing a lot more of Mr. Shannon if he continued to pursue his daughter.

Could he really continue to be around her knowing that Mr. Shannon would be there at every turn, possibly with a deadly weapon in hand should he accidently break her heart—not that he would ever, ever, break her heart.

Damn right he could.

Mark steadied his breaths, gripping the sides of his head as he forced himself to calm down. Mr. Shannon said she would be out shortly, and looking as if he were on the verge of passing out was not the image he wanted to present himself to her. He resolutely climbed the steps, straightening out his shirt as he rolled the tenseness from his shoulders.

_Good morning, Miss Shannon. _

Four words, all he had to do was say four simple words to her once she opened the door. He repeated them to himself several times over; he even tested them in various ways as he waited for her to make an appearance. He could begin an entire conversation with her as long as he kept his opening simple, and he had to remember to smile at her, keep his voice even and calm, and not squeaky like he was going through puberty again.

Mark looked up as he heard footsteps beyond the door. He watched it open in anticipation, and smiled slightly when he caught a glimpse of her. She was looking behind her when she emerged, pulling the door shut as she walked through the threshold, and not ahead of her where she could see that he was standing directly in her path.

Madelyn walked directly into his chest, and his mind blanked as he felt her lips come into contact with the skin above the collar of his shirt.

It took less than a second for his body to go completely ridged, his arms instinctively catching her around her middle as she stumbled from the unexpected wall he created. Her hair was a bit damp, strongly fragranced with the herbal remedies that substituted shampoo, and he inhaled the scent of it as he held her against him.

_Oh… this is nice._

A small gasp reached his ears much too soon, and though he was sorely tempted to keep her right where she was, he allowed her to pull away from him. Her cheeks were flushed red, dark brown eyes gazing up at him with shock as she absently licked her lips, a completely innocent gesture that he followed with his eyes until he realized what he was doing.

"Oh my gosh!" she breathed out, and he was disappointed to watch her eyes be hidden beneath her eyelids as she began to stutter out an apology. "I am… that was… I didn't mean… I just wasn't looking where I was going! I walked, and then you were there, and I am so… I swear I didn't know you were there…"

Mark felt his smile return as he listened to her apologize for literally running into him but if only instant replay buttons worked in real life, because he really wanted her back in his arms. He tilted his head curiously as she suddenly fell silent, and tried to remember what he had wanted to say to her, because _'you smell good'_ was absolutely _not _appropriate… however true it may have been.

"Hello," Madelyn greeted him quietly, shifting her weight as she peered up at him through her eyelashes, and _whoa_; she had pretty eyelashes. Were eyelashes even supposed to be pretty? Or maybe it was the way her brown eyes seemed to shift color in the morning rays of sunlight, those dark lashes framing her eyes and bringing out the sudden amber streaks.

_Four words_, Mark had to remind himself.

"Good morning, Miss Shannon," he replied steadily, feeling proud for the way his voice had not even wavered in the slightest. He watched with growing fascination as the redness in her cheeks became more prominent at his greeting, wondering what he had said exactly to make her blush like that.

"Good morning," she said softly, her eyes darting to the side as she bit down on her lip. Madelyn seemed lost in thought, and he loathed interrupting her musings but he was very aware that the minutes were ticking by and he would soon have to leave. He wanted a chance to talk to her some more before he left after all.

"Are you going somewhere…" he asked her curiously.

Madelyn blinked up at him with those bright amber streaked eyes, and a small smile lit her face. "Yes," she said. "I noticed yesterday that there are various pathways throughout the entire facility, and my plan is to go down one every morning and just kind of get my bearings." Her smile grew, and she began gesturing with her hands animatedly. "There is just so much to look at, and I'm sure that if I go down at least one path a day, then I should know my way around pretty well by the time we begin classes next week. So I just… um…"

Mark lifted his eyebrows in question as she fell silent, wondering why she had stopped. He liked listening to her talk. Her voice always ended up slightly breathless when she was speaking, and he knew she was full of a nervous energy to explore just by the way she spoke of her surroundings.

"Sorry," she said quietly, her arms wrapping around her middle unconsciously. "Sometimes my mouth works faster than my brain does—which is redundant considering that my brain controls my speech—and innocent bystanders end up with an overload of information they probably already know, or just don't want to hear." She winched, concluding, "As you learned already, with the long-winded explanation on brachiosaurus dietary habits I gave you yesterday."

Mark barely caught himself before he could reveal that had she not beaten him to it yesterday, he would have given her an even longer explanation on their dietary habits riddled with countless scientific facts that he had already forgotten by this morning. But thankfully he reigned in the urge, because as far as he was concerned, she would _never _know of his humiliation at his failed attempt to impress her.

Instead Mark smiled slowly, stepping off of her porch. "Don't worry about it," he assured her. "Which path were you planning on taking?" He watched as she shut the door that had been left open during her near fall, and she slowly followed him down the steps. He allowed himself a brief grin of success as he casually maneuvered himself directly beside her.

"Honestly," Madelyn shrugged in reply. "I have no idea if any of these pathways have names, like street addresses or not, but the one with the purple flowers planted around those large green bushes looked like it might have some very interesting flora to observe."

Flora? Did that mean flowers? He watched her from the corner of his eye, wondering if perhaps he should buy himself a dictionary in order not to make himself seem as ignorant as he really was.

"Eventually I hope to record and catalog all the different forms of plant life in Terra Nova in my science journals," she added thoughtfully, a curious frown forming between her brows. "Do you know how many different forms of flowers there are in this time period? Or other forms of vegetation, like fruits or vegetables?"

"Not really," he answered, relieved when that seemed to be the right response.

"Exactly," Madelyn said with a wide grin. "No one really does. Everything that grows in this region is probably completely different when compared to something growing somewhere else. Do you know if they go out often to collect samples from foreign territories? Because that would be wonderful; imagine everything they could find out there."

Mark smiled as he watched her shake her head with a look akin to awe on her face. He was about to answer her, when he noticed a certain glint in her eye, and kept silent. His grin widened when she continued not more than a second later.

"There is so much to experience!" she said with excitement. "Are the fruits here very good? What about the vegetables? I know that Hope Plaza sent a few things through from the other side for us to cultivate, but what about the native fruits? Do you know how long we have to stay on the enzyme shakes? Because all the orientation people said was that it would take a while for our bodies to adjust to the unprocessed and non-synthesized food here…"

"Usually people are weaned off of the protein shakes after a week," he told her, spotting the path she had mentioned just ahead. He was smug when he realized that instead of looking at the flowers she had seemed so interested in, she was staring up at him with rapt attention. "Some of the mild solid foods are gradually introduced, and by next week you should be able to eat anything without making yourself sick."

_Unless Guzman takes over survival training, _he added with an inward grimace. That man took a cruel amusement into teaching his students how to survive off of bugs the minute they no longer had to consume the protein shakes that were provided for all new arrivals.

"There are a variety of fruits and vegetables that we harvest, and some are better than others," Mark said. He usually only ate fruit when Alicia bought it for him, and he tried to avoid eating anything green or orange as if his life depended on it.

Chocolate came from a plant right? He ate plenty of that. In fact he had a stash of chocolate bars in a box in his house that he indulged in daily. But chocolate was not native to the area, it was something they had brought through the time facture to grow. Sadly he had little knowledge of the foods he overlooked in the orchards each week.

"It depends on your preferences," Mark shrugged helplessly. "And the science division goes on routine expeditions for new plant life several times a week. They also have several research stations out on six month rotations, and they usually haul in some interesting things when they return."

"Thank you,"

Mark glanced at her in surprise at her abrupt words.

"For yesterday, I mean," Madelyn elaborated, looking down at her feet and she brought her hands together. "You have been so great, and you have no idea how much I appreciate it all. Everything, from being nice to Zoe, to what happened in the market with those people waving their weapons around—even if that was probably unintentional—" She frowned a bit, and he opened his mouth to tell her that it was not unintentional, that he had actually been searching her out, but her last whisper silenced him. "—and then last night…"

Mark inhaled deeply, feeling both elated and helpless all at once. He was glad that she appreciated his company, especially since he had slowly been convincing himself that he was overstepping every time he was in her presence, but at the same time, he despised hearing the despondency in her voice.

It gnawed at it insides, and he gently caught her arm so that she stopped, glancing up at him. Before he could think of something to say, something that might make her melancholy disappear, she peered up at him and continued quietly.

"Zoe was only a little bit scared last night, and it was probably all my fault," she admitted shyly. "She was less upset about what was happening than she was about my impending meltdown. I was so close to completely freaking out, and if you hadn't shown up when you had, I would have probably just broken down into tears because my brother is a reckless moron who is apparently trying to scare me to death and…"

Mark frowned in concern as her voice wavered, and he absently began to circle his thumb against her inner forearm and he shushed her gently. "I understand," he assured her. "Don't worry about it." She still had an air of uncertainty around her, and, feeling daring, he slid his hand into hers and gave it a squeeze. "It was an upsetting situation, and I'm only glad I could help."

Madelyn studied him, and he smiled gently as she nodded her head in return. He took a hesitant step forward, consciously leaving his hand around hers, and he released a breath when she made no move to withdraw from his grasp. She was letting him hold her hand.

It was a very gratifying experience, knowing that she was allowing him to guide her as he continued to walk down another path, this one of his own choosing. Her earlier questions had proved she kindled an interest in the flowers and the trees. He may not know the names of the plants, and he may not have truly appreciated the aesthetic appeal of them before, but he roamed the fields often during his patrols and he knew of an old observation tower that was usually abandoned during this time of the year.

Therefore Mark led the way, hoping she would be pleased with the view the higher elevation would afford her. "This is one of the observation decks," he said, drawing her to a stop in front of the wooden stairs. He allowed her to go first, though kept his hold on her, unwilling to release her just yet.

Mark smiled as he watched her reaction carefully, noticing her sharp inhale the moment they reached the top of the platform. He led her closer to the railing and her eyes were glued out into the scene below. He had to admit, it was a much more impressive sight from up here than it was walking through it. He wondered what it was she saw in the stalks of plants and the leaves that he couldn't.

"It's so beautiful…" she said, though her voice was so soft that he had nearly missed her word entirely. She was too immersed in the view, and he shuffled closer.

"You mentioned the plants we cultivate… some of these are things we brought through, and the rest are native plants that we grow here in our botanical gardens. Each section grows certain things, such as the one below," He gestured. "It's mainly medicinal herbs that the infirmary uses to treat patients." He watched as she took everything in for a long moment, smiling slowly as he noticed the amazed gleam in her eye. "I thought you might like this."

"Before we came through the time fracture," Madelyn began quietly, and he bit his lip when he registered the sad tinged to her tone. "The only plants I had ever seen were the ones in archives or books. How could humanity take something as beautiful and pure as this… and pollute it into what it was?"

To be honest Mark never really thought much about it. He could scarcely recall anything about the future he had left behind, despite that he had been old enough to remember at least some things. He could remember his grandfather.

Most childhood memories were centered on the withered old man and his scruffy beard, who used to let Mark pretend that he was an accountant just like him.

Admittedly Mark knew his life before Terra Nova had been more privileged than others. His family, while not _rich _by the society standards of the future was certainly well off enough to own a comfortable house in a hyperbaric dome.

Mark had grown up within an oxygen enriched environment, his mother had even her own business dealing with vegetables, and since even just the seeds were expensive, a whole greenhouse was so rare that people must have paid a fortune for a single gift basket she prepared. Here it took less than a few terras to buy enough produce to last a week.

Madelyn could have lived in a dome but he doubted that was the case. He could see the way she watched the tall grass ripple as the morning breeze wafted through it, and she swallowed several times as she quickly wiped at her eyes. She had never seen grass before, she had never seen trees like this, standing tall and reaching for the sky even with heavy burdens of fruit weighing the branches down.

It was a new experience for her, and it affected her greatly.

Mark could not stand the sound of her shuddering breaths, and slowly raised his hands to her soft face, his palms resting against her cheeks as he used the pads of his thumbs to catch her tears. He was concerned, and he had to qualms about letting it show. He may not see what she sees in the world but she was affecting him just as much as the view had affected her.

"Maybe people just didn't realize just how beautiful the world around them was," he mused quietly, guilty of that himself. He had never cared… until now. He stared into her eyes, hoping he could soothe the hurt in her eyes. "Perhaps they needed more people like you to point it out to them."

Madelyn tilted her head up, probably an unconscious gesture due to their new proximity, her eyes shining and bright and he knew he had to stop himself from bending down to meet her lips with his own. He had promised himself that he would take his time and get to know her before he made any advances.

Allowing himself to kiss her right now while she was clearly upset would not only breaking that promise to himself… it would also be taking advantage of her. Therefore he was relieved when he heard the sharp beeping from his wrist, the alarm causing him to come back to himself.

Mark lowered his hands from her face with reluctance, and silenced the alarm. He had a few minutes to walk to his post, and sign in for a long day of watching security footage, as he was still on desk duty until his superior allowed him to patrol. He looked back up at her, giving her an apologetic smile.

"My shift is about to start." he told her, and Madelyn nodded slowly in return. "Can you find your way back?" He had led her here after all, and she had seemed a bit preoccupied at the time.

"I'll be fine," she assured him.

Mark wondered if she realized that her tone had not been very convincing. She must have sensed his reluctance to leave, because a moment later she smiled. It was almost like a physical blow to the gut; because her smiles were always so genuine, lighting up her eyes with an inner joy that shown as brightly as staring into the sun itself.

It was probably not something she was even aware she was doing but he knew that she was just smiling to smile. Not because she was happy… and that made all the difference. He could distinguish it easily, and he supposed he could finally reconcile her to the girl he had seen in the photograph in her file.

Madelyn Shannon was still a mystery despite how open she was.

"Better get to work," she said with a small wave of her hand, and he found his sudden distress vanishing as her smile morphing into something more genuine as she concluded, "Mister Reynolds…"

Mark smiled slowly in return, enjoying the way she had spoken his name. She had turned it back around on him, and it made him feel giddy. "Have a good day, Miss Shannon."

* * *

><p>Hello everyone.<p>

As most of you have probably guessed, I have been having some difficulty with the next chapter of _Enchanted. _It was supposed to be posted way back in November, but unfortunately, I'm a bit stuck with it even though I know exactly how I want it to go. Therefore I hope that working on this for a while will help me get through it. A major shout out to the amazing bellakitse, who gave me the inspired idea to work on something else for the time being until I can bet past the brick wall I met with the next chapter of _Enchanted._

Hope you all liked it!


	2. Late Introductions

**Chapter Two  
><strong>_Late Introductions_

Mark awoke to an odd banging noise emitting from his kitchen. It was something he wished he could say he was unaccustomed to, but the usual instinctive urge to grab his firearm when he heard something out of the ordinary in his house was sadly now immune to the sound of Alicia Washington ransacking his cabinets for what she needed to stock up on.

There had to be a way to keep that woman from breaking into his house.

With a glance at the watch still around his wrist, Mark gave a pathetic whimper when he realized that once again, he was awake before his alarm. He buried his face into the soft pillow, pulling the edges of it up to cover his ears in an attempt to block out the cheerful whistling echoing throughout the house.

Alicia did this just to torture him. He was already anticipating the moment when she would be yanking the sheets away and grabbing his ankle to pull him out of bed. She did it fairly often, as loathed as he was to admit. Or perhaps today it would be the pitcher of iced water—she did that one whenever she wanted him to wash his pillow cases and sheets.

It wasn't as if Mark didn't appreciate everything she did for him. He would probably still be living out of the mess hall or the frozen food section had Alicia not decide that she had to take it upon herself to buy him groceries. She claimed that he was her test dummy for new recipes at least once or twice a week, though he knew that she just wanted to sneak him some healthy greens disguised in macaroni or some kind of casserole.

Mark enjoyed when she came over for those nights, even if she did trick him into eating things he would rather avoid. She would chatter on about her day, and she usually avoided talking about work during that time in order to pester him about his usual lack of social life. He wondered what she would have to say when he told her about what happened with Madelyn yesterday.

_Madelyn… _

Just thinking about her caused a silly, wonderstruck grin to overtake his face. He had enjoyed their walk yesterday, and even being stuck behind a desk for eight hours had not managed to put a damper on his unusually good mood. His smiling had gotten him some odd looks from a few others who had worked with him before, though they had refrained from mentioning it.

It had only been when he was walking home that Mark realized he had wasted yet another opportunity to introduce himself to her. Did she even know his name yet? He guessed that her mother could have mentioned it to her the other night, but he wanted the chance to introduce himself.

"Wake up, kid!"

Mark felt the hand around his ankle a second later, and he twisted away from her as quickly as he could, trying to dislodge her grip and roll onto his back. He realized belatedly that he should have forced himself out of bed before she came to _help _him out of it when he had woken. He ended up landing on his backside, his sheets restricting him from evading her.

Alicia gave him a bemused look. "Get your ass into gear, soldier."

"Good morning to you, too," he replied dryly, standing carefully. "You do recall that I'm injured here, don't you?"

It had been a few days since the confrontation with Carter that had landed him in the infirmary. He still had a bit of soreness on his side, but it was nowhere near as bad as it had been. The deep purple bruise just above his kidneys had healed nicely with the accelerating agent in his medication, already fading into light hues of green and yellow.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Alicia said with her eyebrows raised. "Does it really hurt that bad? I guess I really _should_ keep you restricted to a desk then, instead of giving you a shift on patrol like I was going to."

"No!" Mark nearly shouted, shaking his head earnestly. "I'm fine. See," He poked himself in the side as if to prove his point, perhaps with a bit too much enthusiasm at the prospect of getting away from the boring desk in the security center. "Ouch," he said with surprise.

Alicia snorted. "Very convincing."

Mark shrugged helplessly. "It only hurts when I poke it," he told her, and she pursed her lips in obvious amusement at his lame excuse. "Please, please, please let me patrol today." He decided to throw in a pout, just to soften her up a bit. "I promise I will be a good boy, and avoid getting into any fights with Sixers this time."

Alicia rolled her eyes, a grudging smile on her lips. "You're lucky I like you, kid," she said, turning her heel with a shake of her head. He followed her into the kitchen, the smell of food permeating the air in a way that made his mouth water.

"Does that mean I can?" he asked with a grin, taking a seat at the counter where a plate was already waiting for him. He scrutinized it carefully, wondering exactly what kind of animal had produced the egg that had been made into an omelet and placed on his plate. "Is this a dinosaur egg again?" He gave it a wary poke with his fork.

"Quit playing with your food," she scolded, digging into her own meal. "You need the protein. And yes; you can patrol today." Before Mark could internally celebrate, she added, "But you're assigned to the orchards today, and you are only working four hour shifts until I say otherwise."

"I'm not complaining,"

"That's a first," Alicia noted casually, though he could see the calculating gleam in her eyes. He studied his eggs with a suppressed smile, pushing them around on the plate. "Does this have to do with a certain girl? You know, the one you _hacked my password _for, just to learn her name?"

Mark groaned. "Must you bring that up?"

Alicia just smirked at him. "Did you finally manage to talk to her the other night?" she asked. "Or did you completely blank and just stare at her the entire time? Nath—Commander Taylor said you looked mighty skittish when he and the Shannons arrived."

Mark flushed at the reminder of what had happened. He had been very nervous once Mr. and Mrs. Shannon had entered, and even more anxious when he noted the commander among them.

"… I talked to her," he defended, not even bothering to comment on her little slip with the name of a certain commander. "I just… forgot to introduce myself." He looked up when she coughed, trying and failing to suppress her amusement. He scowled at her, stabbing his food with unnecessary force.

"_Again_?" Alicia shook her head. "How many times have you talked to this girl?"

"Five."

Clearly she had not been expected an actual number, Alicia's eyes widening with surprise at the admittance. His cheeks began to warm at her incredulous expression. He had not _really _been keeping count of how often he interacted with Madelyn; it was just that every encounter was still just so fresh in his mind that it was hard not to know.

"… You really like this girl," Alicia said softly, and he dared to peek up at her. She had a softer smile on her face than he had ever seen before. "Nathaniel told me about your question,"

Mark frowned at her in confusion for a moment before he realized what she meant. He inwardly groaned; he should have expected the man to talk to her about it. "Courting?"

"Mm hmm," she hummed, the smile still in place. "You really impressed him, you know. Not by coming to him for advice, but for how you intend to pursue the girl you like. He likes that idea."

"… He does?"

Alicia nodded.

Mark smiled slightly. He had been unsure whether or not it had been a good idea to court Madelyn, because the notion really was outdated and old fashioned. To have the commander's approval meant a great deal to him.

Although he still had no real idea what the rules of courting were exactly, other than a few old references from his mother when he was younger, he was now more confident in his choice.

"You know what tomorrow is, right?"

Mark glanced back up at her curiously, wondering at the sudden change in her tone. "… Friday?"

"… Exactly _six months_ since you enlisted."

"Are you going to throw me a party?" he joked.

"Sure," she said lightly. "We can invite all of your non-existent friends,"

"Don't forget the chocolate cake."

"… Mark." Alicia sighed. "The convoy from Outpost Eight arrives tomorrow morning."

The clatter of the fork hitting his plate echoed throughout the kitchen, and Mark quickly stood from his stool and moved to empty his half eaten breakfast into the trash, his appetite suddenly evaporating. He put the plate in the sink and turned the water on, every muscle in his back tense.

"Mark—"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Mark knew his tone was a bit severe. He had not meant to snap at her, but he had yet to come to terms with everything and he really wanted to avoid even thinking about his brother until he had to. His hands were shaking, and he gave up trying to clean his dishes, turning the water off as he braced himself against the counter.

"Okay," Alicia said gently from her seat. He heard her stand, and sensed her presence idle right behind him. She placed a calming hand on his shoulder, giving him a light squeeze. "Okay. I just thought I should warn you before it got here."

Before he got here.

Inhaling deeply, Mark gave her a sharp nod in return, not trusting himself to speak without it coming out harsh. He had nearly forgotten what significance today held. He had been so distracted by his feelings for Madelyn Shannon that he had not once lingered on it.

Alicia had even mentioned Michael the other night, when she came to his house. He had avoided the subject, just as he was now. His brother would be back from his six month rotation tomorrow, and Mark had not seen nor even spoke to him at all during that time.

Six whole months. Over a hundred and eighty days.

"I should get to work," Alicia interrupted quietly, and her hand patted his rigid back briefly. He turned to look at her, noting her solemn features. "Take care, kid,"

Mark smiling tightly. "Bye, Alicia,"

The door closed behind her, and Mark released a haggard sigh as moved away from the sink. He used to feel angry whenever she mentioned his brother around him; he would usually take his anger and frustration out on his punching bag. Right now he just felt emotionally exhausted.

It was going to be a long day.

Mark prepared for work slowly, taking his time to gather his own thoughts. He managed to make it out the door just as his watched notified him he had eight minutes to sign in. He must have been projecting his bad mood, because the others patrolling for the day gave him a wide berth.

The fields were quiet, just as they always were. The orchards were in the interior of the base, at the center of it in fact. To expect there to be any trouble, other than the abnormally large insects, was a far stretch of the imagination.

Although, after his encounter with Carter beneath the turbines in the power sector, Mark paid extra attention to his surroundings to avoid repeating that scenario. He seriously doubted that he would run into any trouble, but he was determined to stay more alert.

These fields housed everything the colony cultivated, which is why the everything else had been built to surround it—even if the natural resources began to wane during the winter or the herbivores decided that they had a taste for the fields agriculture grew outside of the gate, the crops inside the settlement could be protected and carefully tended to in order to insure they would survive.

Four hours was moving by surprisingly quickly, though he was grateful that his shift was almost over for the day. His side, though admittedly feeling much better than before, did begin to twinge after walking for so long a time. He was just getting ready to head back in order to sign out when he saw someone atop an observation tower that overlooked the fields.

Mark used his binoculars to look, a smile forming on his face as he recognized the young woman sitting on the platform. She must have climbed up there between his last sweep, because she had not been there the last time he had walked this way. He realized that he was standing near the herbs used by the infirmary; she was using the tower he had shown her.

It made him feel a bit giddy to realize that she had gone back there today. He was not under the illusion that she enjoyed it so much just because _he_ had been the one to show it to her; she probably only liked the view it presented, but he was genuinely pleased that he had been the one to introduce her to something she clearly enjoyed.

Mark wondered if he could catch her before she left. He quickly walked home after signing out, deciding that smelling like fertilizer and sweat after walking through the fields in the hot sun all morning was not a good way to present himself. He shed is uniform the moment he walked through the door, leaving a trail of clothes into the shower.

It took him less than five minutes to clean himself, and he was sure he set some kind of record for how quickly he dressed. His hair was still a bit damp, and he ran his fingers through it several times to try and make it cooperate instead of just lying flat on his skull.

Feeling refreshed and clean, Mark walked quickly with intent. He hoped she had not left during the time it took him to get there, though honestly, he had no idea why he was so worried. She could not go far on within the settlement even if she had gotten tired of the view, and he knew where he could find her if she had decided to go home.

Mark climbed the old wooden steps that led to the platform, vowing that he would introduce himself properly this time. If he was really serious about courting her, then she had to know his name. He may have discovered hers through unscrupulous means, and she might even know his via her mother, but his intentions warranted a proper introduction, however late it may be.

Madelyn was sitting on the wooden deck when he arrived at the top. Her arms were braced behind her, and her legs extended as she sat there. Her head was tilted upward with the gentlest smile on her face, long dark waves of hair tumbling down her back. She was bathed in sunlight, the warm rays making her skin have an almost ethereal look.

Mark swallowed at the image she presented, taking a moment to commit the sight to memory. He had been correct in his first impression of her. He had thought she was like sunshine, and now he was sure she was a physical embodiment of the sun.

Apparently Madelyn had already heard him climbing the steps, because she only smiled when she finally opened her eyes, her head tilting to look at him. She straightened herself out from her relaxed position, pulling her legs to her as she placed her hands in her lap. Her cheeks were a bit red as she met his eyes, though he supposed it was from the sun.

Mark could not help the slow smile forming on his face in response to hers. Her joy was infectious, and he found that all of the dark emotions that had been following him like and angry shroud of doom today simply evaporated in her presence.

It was like a soothing balm over an open wound.

"Hello, Miss Shannon,"

Madelyn's cheeks flushed an attractive shade of pink as she ducked her head, her bottom lip disappearing between her teeth. "Good afternoon, Mister Reynolds," she replied in a soft tone.

"What are you doing today?" he asked, only now noticing the papers strewn around her on the deck. He was not ashamed to admit that he had been a bit too preoccupied with looking at her to have seen them before. She was quite distracting.

However, now that he had noticed the papers, Mark realized that they were _actual paper. _Quite a few sheets from what he could see, and she seemed to be organizing them into piles. He recognized the slanted, elegant script as her handwriting, and came to the conclusion that the pages must belong to one of the diaries he had seen the night he had been in her house.

Madelyn gave him a somewhat embarrassed smile. "My science journal kind of fell apart on me," she said sadly, though she perked up a moment later. "But I got so much done today. So far I have cataloged over twenty different species of magnoliophyta just down this one path alone. This one here," She leafed through a few pages before offering him one. "This is my favorite so far."

Mark glanced at it briefly, though his eyes were drawn back to her face as she resumed speaking.

"The colors are just amazing," she said with enthusiasm. "And it appears to be some sort of ancestor of the liliaceae family, specifically lilium paradalinum. Although I won't be able to confirm my theory until I can procure a few samples and compare them to the archives I have in my database…"

Mark nodded slowly, forcing himself to look back down at the paper. He tried to memorize the words she was saying, because apparently it was her favorite. He had been expecting a short description on the page, perhaps her writing just describing what the flower looked like. He was surprised to find that, along with the description, there was a very realistic drawing beside it.

It was a flower he recognized. He had seen it before on patrols, and sometimes the colony florist got permission to head out into a field where there were apparently hundreds of them, bringing a large quantity onto the base to be planted for the new housing units. He wondered if he could get procure some himself for her home, since the garden was still unfinished.

"You drew this?" he asked curiously, impressed with the fine details she had done to make the image come to life. She was silent for a moment, and he wondered why she looked so worried. He had no idea why she would be worried though, because she had done a wonderful job depicting the flower. "You are quite the artist."

Madelyn peered up at him with those big, soulful brown eyes as if he had said the most baffling thing in the world. She seemed shaken by his declaration. She immediately began shaking her head, and when she spoke her voice was unsteady. "Not really,"

Mark was surprised that she would think that, though he had a feeling that she didn't say it out of modesty. He lifted his eyebrows in confusion. "You are," He glanced back at the drawing in his hand, and then down to the other papers; she had several more sketches of different flowers on them. He gestured, licking his bottom lip as he searched for a way to convey just how great the drawings were.

"Honestly," she argued with him, biting her own lip. "These sketches have more to do with mathematics than with any sort of innate talent. Real artists can apply their surroundings or something they just think up, and somehow they translate that into a photorealistic image, or even a completely abstract design on their work surface. I merely measured the dimensions of the plants I was studying and scaled them down to size so they would fit in the pages…"

Mark was still impressed with the drawing no matter how she achieved it. He could not draw a flower—he probably couldn't even draw a straight line. "Be that as it may," he said, smiling at her. "You're a great artist, no matter how you created it." He thought that she was just too close to the project, and obviously couldn't see just how truly amazing it was.

Instead of returning the smile, however, Madelyn pulled her knees even closer to her body, wrapping her arms around them. She frowned down at the scattered piles of paper, a thoughtful expression on her face. He was a bit worried that he had upset her with his insistence. He just meant to be honest with her, not make her upset.

"… Artists are not very well thought of back _there_," she told him quietly. "In the high society, there are still a few painters, though the materials are quite expensive even though there are no natural pigments—just the synthetic ones. There are some graphic artists that are respected, because digital art does not require physical paints or canvas. Though, even graphic artists are lucky to sell one of their paintings in their lifetime. It is considered a useless skill."

Madelyn rested her chin on her forearms, curling in on herself. Her voice was thoughtful, and perhaps just a little despondent. He couldn't imagine how she felt, having such a great gift and to have the world point out that it could never amount to anything.

Music was not regarded with the same disdain as art. He tried to think of it in those terms, if people said the same about him playing the guitar. He still could not imagine it. There were still whole companies that produced music—all digital copies of course—and people still bought the songs.

Instruments were a lot more difficult to purchase, particularly the classic guitar he had brought with him through the portal. Mark could actually remember the people at Hope Plaza trying to keep him from taking the guitar with him, even though he had somehow managed to fit it inside of the small bag they had been given.

The neck had been sticking out of the top, and he had cushioned it with the two outfits he had brought, but he had refused to leave it behind. Eventually security had little choice but to let him through, though they had not been happy about it.

Mark wondered if Madelyn had been able to bring anything other than this book and the others he knew she owned with her. It looked as if every page, both sides of the paper, had something written and sketched onto it. Even if she had brought more books to draw in, at the rate she was going through the pages, she would need more soon.

If he recalled right, gifts were part of courting someone. He knew that one merchant sold paper made from slivers of wood, and another one who made something similar to plexipaper that used real ink instead of the usual sensor pen, but both are expensive and it would take him at least three paychecks to be able to purchase something like that.

Mark studied her as she sat there, and slowly knelt down beside her. She was once again lost in thought, and he idly wondered if that was something that she did often, or just around him. She looked at him, startled when he grazed her arm to get her attention, trying to convey his honesty to her.

"This," he said, holding out the drawing to her. "This is not a useless skill." She met his eyes hesitantly, and he saw her inhale a wavering breath as he continued. "This is _beautiful…_ and someone very wise recently opened my eyes to the beauty around me." He looked at it himself for a brief moment, wondering if he would have even noticed how much work she had put into a drawing a few days ago or if she had opened his mind to new experiences without even realizing it.

Madelyn blushed at his words, and he smiled gently.

"You have a rare talent, Miss Shannon," he told her honestly. "You're special. Don't you dare ever let anyone tell you otherwise." He watched as she hid her face slightly, and he drew in a shaky breath of his own when she eventually met his eyes, peering at him through her lashes again. She really needed to stop doing that, because it made it very difficult to _think_.

"Maddy," she said quietly. "My name is Maddy."

Mark smiled. "Maddy," he repeated slowly. He had known that her family referred to her as that, and he knew it must be the name she reserved for family and friends. She was offering him a name, but to him there was something very special about it. He liked the way it sounded, and it definitely suited her. He smiled even more, eager to finally introduce himself. "Well, Maddy Shannon… I'm Mark."

_Finally._

"Mark," she echoed, and Mark licked his suddenly parched lips at her slow tone. It almost sounded as if she were savoring the moment, trying to draw it out as long as she could. He doubted she knew the effect she had on him; he was practically putty in her hands by this point. "So… Mark."

"Yes, Miss Shannon?"

Mark may have permission to use her name now, but he rather liked the way she blushed when he referred to her as 'Miss Shannon'. She gave him a curious glance, that ever present reddish hue to her golden skin that made him grin. She had a very profound effect on him, and he was glad to be able to make her blush like that.

"Um…" she paused briefly, then asked, "What… what do you actually do here? Are you part of the security force? Like my dad?"

"Not exactly," he answered, shaking his head. "From what I understand from the briefing last night, your father is being placed in charge of his own branch of internal security. Commander Taylor referred to him as the sheriff,"

There had been some mixed reactions when Commander Taylor made the announcement last night, and it had caused quite the stir among the soldiers. No one was quite sure what to make of their new _sheriff_; some were curious, others were indifferent. Some were worried about why he was being appointed, and Mark? Well, it was no real surprise that he was skittish.

Jim Shannon now had a standard issue firearm and the authority to place people in the brig. He knew very little about what a detective did, but he had heard snippets of a conversation between Alicia and Guzman last night that that's what Mr. Shannon had been. Even if he had no idea what a detective did, he was wary about what it meant for him.

"I'm with the Terra Nova Security Force," Mark told her. "I am certified to carry a weapon but I am only allowed off base with permission. More or less, I am an extra pair of eyes or hands when needed, and I have put in requests to be placed in the active units…" He shrugged a bit, well aware that his actual job was not exactly glamorous. "Usually my assignments are to patrol the interior perimeter, to ensure there have been no breaches by the wildlife or the Sixers. My sector was the orchard today… it actually saved me some searching earlier," he admitted. "I saw you from down there."

Maddy licked her lips, once again staring up at him through her eyelashes. "Y-you were going to look for me?" she asked him, watching him carefully.

Mark thought there might have been something hopeful in her tone, and he smiled gently even as his heart began to race. "Today I only had a four hour shift," he told her, and she gave him a curious look in response. "Now my schedule is completely open, and since you seem so interested in the plant life here, I was wondering if you would like to take another walk with me."

Okay, so maybe the only reason he had not fought Alicia on the four hour shift had less to do with the pain in his side, and more to do with spending the afternoon with Maddy. He knew that Alicia had picked up on it earlier, even if he had not really admitted to it.

Mark waited anxiously for her to reply, and thankfully he did not have to wait long.

Maddy's eyes widened briefly. "Of course!" she said with a smile, her voice eager. She immediately began to retrieve the piles of paper around her, and Mark exhaled quietly as he began to help her. He observed her under the guise of mindlessly handing her stacks of pages, watching with a smile as she carefully bound them in the cover they had come loose from.

It did not take them long to finish, and Mark rose to his feet once they were done, offering her his hand. She studied it for a moment, giving him a slightly unsure look before she slid her hand into his. He was reminded of yesterday, when he had took her hand and held it. He wondered if she would let him get away with it today as well.

Mark helped her to her feet, surprised when she stumbled into his chest. She really, _really_ needed to quit doing that. He was very tempted to keep her where she was as he steadied her, offering her an apology because this time, he conceded, it _had_ been his fault.

Maddy smiled at him, and began moving away, though he tested fate and kept his hold on her. He would let her go if she seemed to be uncomfortable with the idea. She had seemed fine with it yesterday. He felt very pleased with himself when she made no other move to retreat from his grip.

Though it had not really been planned, Mark decided the impromptu trip to the orchard was actually a very good idea. He made sure to take the long way, to the northern gate that would allow them into the fields, walking at a leisure pace. She was definitely fascinated with the scenery of the path he had chosen, though every so often her eyes would drift to him and she would smile.

Mark loved her smile. He knew yesterday, when they had parted, that the one she offered him was not exactly sincere. He was very pleased to find that whatever had triggered her before was gone, her smiles bright and lovely, and completely genuine now. He vowed to try and make her smile as much as possible.

It took far less time to reach the north gate than he had anticipated, and Mark slowed down a bit more as the gate came into view. He studied her expression curiously as she stared out into the field of tall stalks with pure fascination, though she seemed reluctant to actually go inside when he began to move toward it.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Won't we be breaking the rules by going out there?" she asked him cautiously. "Because civilians aren't allowed beyond the gates unsupervised, are they? Josh is on latrine duty with his new friends for a month because they went outside the gates, and it would be really, really bad if both of us got into trouble for the same thing, especially in the same week. Commander Taylor has been so nice to us these past few days, and our family has already caused him a lot of trouble so—"

Mark squeezed her hand to get her attention. Her voice had become breathless as she spoke, gaining speed as her anxiousness became known, and he was unable to stop the gentle laugh from escaping him at her misconception.

"Maddy," he said soothingly, assuring her, "We aren't going outside the gates."

Maddy gave him a very disbelieving look.

"The enclosure surrounds all of Terra Nova, including the botanical facilities here," he told her, gesturing to the open gate. "This fence here is merely a divider due to the population of insects that infest the fields, to keep the larger ones from entering the city… you can't really see it here on the ground, but our orchards and crops are actually in the center of the base."

"Oh…" she breathed out. "Are there maps somewhere? Because that would be really useful."

Mark smiled at her serious tone, amused by the sudden shift. She had gone from anxious to curious in a second. "I'll see if I can get you one…"

Maddy allowed him to guide her through the gate unhindered. "So… just to be clear," she began. "We _are _allowed to be in here… right?"

Mark could not remember the last time he had laughed more than once in a day, but he couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, Maddy," he assured. "We are allowed to be here, and no," he cut in, seeing the question in her eyes. She paused curiously, and he grinned. "The insects are large, but they are really only attracted to the plants, and as long as you don't antagonize them, they will keep their distance."

Maddy was trying valiantly not to smile, though she did not quite succeed. "Sorry," she apologized. "I had to be sure. I haven't really done anything that could get me into any kind of serious trouble before, and going outside without supervision is clearly prohibited so I… had to be sure." She gave a sudden shudder. "And giant bugs? I apologize in advance for any screaming."

"I'll protect you from the bugs," he promised, trying to keep another laugh at bay. He shook his head in amusement, though he was curious. "… You've never really done anything that could get you into trouble?" he asked her.

Mark knew he had gotten into his fair share of trouble. He had been a bit of a wild child when he was younger, and though he was always an absolute angel when his mother was around, his father and his brother had always been fair game. He was sure he caused them both a lot of headaches before he finally began to mellow out.

"No," Maddy said instantly, though frowned, adding, "Well, not unless you count reconfiguring a laseric scalpel so that it could be used to cut through the walls of a maximum security prison and conspiring with my family to smuggle my convicted father and five year old sister through a time fracture. It's kind of hard to get into trouble for something if you don't get caught though."

Mark was sure that she had not meant to reveal to him what she had by the way her hand twitched in his, her shoulder stiffening and the widening of her eyes. He felt thrown off balance himself, his mind in overdrive as he tried to process the information. He had no real idea how to respond, although the way she was looking at him proved that he better get it right or it would push her away.

At least now he understood why Mr. Shannon had not been included as a dependent in the file he had read when he broke into the database. He had been in prison, and was obviously not eligible. He was a bit impressed, however, to discover that she had helped break him out of said prison.

Mark eyed her with worry, wondering what he could say to make light of the situation. He could see that she was probably expecting him to be upset with this revelation, but even he could see that Mr. Shannon, no matter how terrifying he was to Mark, was a good, honorable man who obviously loved his family very much.

Especially the little one, Zoe. He would bet his guitar that Zoe was the whole reason for the imprisonment. Population control was very strict in 2149, after all.

"… You reconfigured a scalpel?" Mark asked curiously, because out of all of it, it seemed like the least touchy subject. He really wanted to avoid upsetting her again, even though he was pretty sure it would be difficult to avoid it now. He had no problem with her family or their history, and if she didn't want to talk about it, he would understand.

Hopefully she would take it the way he meant it.

Maddy came to a stop, turning to stare at him incredulously. "That's it?" she asked, her eyebrows pinching together in uncertainty. "You… you're not upset to be in the company of a fugitive?"

Mark shook his head purposefully. "You are _not _a fugitive."

"I—"

"I suspected something must have happened when I saw your sister. _'A family is four_," he quoted gently, noting the way she flinched at the words. "It took the commander _one day_ to place your father in charge of his own security division. Taylor is a good judge of character, so whatever your father did to become imprisoned must not have been severe, it was probably even justified… and when you factor your sister in…"

Maddy exhaled slowly as she processed his words. He watched her carefully as she looked down to the ground, her eyes having a very suspicious shine to them that made his gut clench. He had been trying not to upset her; apparently he had not succeeded. He wished he could find the words to alleviate her distress, to sooth the hurt in her eyes.

"Zoe wasn't planned on," she told him quietly, her voice a bit shaky. "Zoe… she was an accident, and according to the law, she shouldn't exist. But… it's… we couldn't. It's _murder_." She sniffed a little, rubbing at her nose, horror in her voice.

Mark slid his hand up her arm, rubbing her inner forearm with his thumb in an effort to calm her. He was relieved when it seemed to help. "So she was born in secret?"

Maddy smiled a very wobbly smile, one full of sadness. "Someone must have tipped the police off one day, because they came looking for her. She was hidden, but… she was scared, and they heard her crying. Dad…" She closed her eyes briefly, biting her lip. "They were going to take her away… so my dad tried to fight them to get to her."

"Is that why he was imprisoned?" He wouldn't put it past population control to arrest someone for trying to protect their family.

"Yes, that's why," Maddy nodded slowly. "They took Zoe too, but the court released her back to us because… _a family is four,_" she said with bitterness. "With my dad gone there were only four of us. We had no idea what would happen once he was released, when his sentence was over. But they would probably come to take one of us away… and when we were told we could come here, they told us Zoe had to be left behind because allowing her to come would be damaging to morale or something."

Mark could not imagine how she must have felt. She and her family had been placed in a terrible situation because of the child, but he understood why they had risked keeping Zoe. She was adorable, and she deserved the chance to _live_. He would probably do the exact same thing if he were placed in a similar situation, even if it meant throwing his own life away.

"I'm glad you were all able to make it here," Mark told her softly, realizing that this place was the best chance her family had. Here they could be together, and no one would tell them that they had to give up their child in order to live their lives.

"So am I," Maddy smiled at him, her eyelashes wet but her eyes free of tears. She was calm now, no longer upset. She gave him a bewildered frown, the smile still on her lip as she said, "We have only been here four days, and it already feels like… home."

Mark was glad that she felt that way. She deserved some peace after all she had been through. He offered her the crook of his arm, sensing that perhaps it was best to move on now that she had calmed down. Somehow he had managed to do it again, and still, he had no idea what he could have said to grant her some tranquility.

"Shall we continue our stroll, Miss Shannon?" he asked her, and he knew he made the right decision when she grinned at him in response, taking his arm.

"That sounds wonderful, Mister Reynolds," Maddy said lightly.

Mark eyed her out of the corner of his eye as he began leading the way, turning his head toward her more fully when she finally noticed. He had to live up to his vow to make her smile, after all.

"So… how exactly _did _you reconfigure that scalpel?"

"It's a long, boring story…" Maddy said, her voice exasperated though he was met with success with the reluctant, genuine smile gracing her features.

Mark smiled too, recalling he had all day to be with her. "We have time."


	3. Starlight

**Chapter Three**  
><em>Starlight<em>

Mark tried to hold onto his good mood as the day progressed. He had actually woken on time as opposed to before the sun even rose. Alicia had not come for breakfast; being second in command meant that she had a lot of responsibilities that conflicted with her schedule, and he knew not to expect her every day. She would probably visit briefly tomorrow, if only to deliver his groceries.

Everything was quiet in the fields, and unfortunately that gave him plenty of time to think. He was under a bit of stress today, knowing that at some point this morning his brother and the rest of the convoy would be arriving from Outpost Eight. He had not seen Michael in over six months, and he was not expecting their reunion to be very pleasant once their tempers clashed.

Mark had managed to work himself into a dark mood with the direction of his thoughts, already dreading the confrontation by the time he was preparing to sign out from his shift. He doubted anything good would come of their talk. Stubbornness happened to be the family trait, and he knew that he could never get through Michael's thick skull without some sort of blunt object to soften him up first.

As much as it pained him to admit, Mark knew he should probably keep his distance from Maddy today too. He was not in any state to see her today. What if he was unintentionally harsh with her, like he was yesterday with Alicia? He could upset her if he took his bad mood out on her. He had already seen her cry; he wasn't sure if he could handle knowing that he was the cause of her tears.

It was a poisonous instinct to lash out, and Mark was certain that the slightest comment could set him off. Yes, he reluctantly conceded that perhaps it would be best to avoid being around her until his temper had calmed. He would rather go a day without her than hurt her and risk possibly losing her forever.

Signing out, however, seemed to be impossible considering the congregation of people blocking the panel where he could input the digits of his identification number. Mark eyed the crowd of soldiers speculatively, pushing his way through and trying to block out the sound of their chattering gossip. He swore that sometimes the soldiers were worse than a pair of housewives when it came to the happenings on base, spreading rumors and the like.

Once he reached the terminal, Mark realized that they were not just milling around; the moment after he had signed out, the screen flashed with a notice of a mandatory meeting in thirty minutes. He lifted his eyebrows curiously, though it was not an odd occurrence.

It was probably just Guzman, wanting to go over weapons safety again or something.

However Mark had no desire to wait here with the others crowding the hallway, and surreptitiously snuck out through a side door so he could head to the briefing room while everyone else theorized. As he expected, the building was quieter, and mostly vacant. He could see a few of his fellows already there, talking in soft whispers that were not at all disturbing him.

Mark decided on a cozy spot near the far wall where he figured no one would really bother him, and settled comfortably in the seat there as he waited for the meeting to begin. More and more people began to arrive as the minutes ticked by, and eventually the room filled with about twenty more people.

While he waited, Mark could hear a few people who sat just in front of him talking. He recognized at least two of them. The others he knew by face, though admittedly, he had never bothered to learn their names before since he'd never been stuck on a shift with any of them.

Private Dunham was someone he worked with often. He was a nice guy, a little talkative and always jumping to conclusions whenever he saw even just a shadow, but he was easy to work with if you just humored him. Tyler Locke was quiet, though he seemed friendly and willing to help out whenever someone needed a hand.

Normally Mark would have been content to just ignore them; however they mentioned something that piqued his interest. Shamelessly, he eavesdropped on their conversation.

"_Washington?_" Locke repeated with a wavering voice. "Lieutenant Washington?"

"That's what Laura said," Dunham nodded. "Apparently Washington laid out rules and everything. Laura said—"

"Please, Dunham," the one sitting beside Locke scoffed. "You would believe anything Reilly said to you. You follow that girl around like a lost puppy dog."

Dunham sputtered in denial, but it was Locke who retaliated. "Funny Haze, I could say the same about you and a certain feisty—"

"Shut it, Ty!"

"I wonder what brought this on," another voice chimed in. "I mean, it's not like anything bad has actually happened. So a girl sheds a tear, big whoop."

"You wanna say that again, punk?" Haze demanded, pounding a threatening fist into the palm of his hand. The man who had spoken shrunk away from him, shaking his head. "That's what I thought. All this shit you and those idiots pull is disgusting. You treat girls as if they're objects that you can play around with. It takes a pretty messed up guy to do that,"

Mark sat up straight as his eyes flew open in comprehension.

He should have realized that it would happen today of all days. He had almost forgotten about it completely, but he'd been expecting something like this to happen ever since he spoke to the commander. He just wished it was on any other day than today—he was under enough stress without being present for a mass reprimand.

Dunham was shaking his head. "I wonder what Taylor will do about it…"

"Who said it will be Taylor?" Locke queried. "Reilly told you that Washington—"

Haze interjected before he could finish. "God, I hope not. That woman scares the hell out of me,"

Mark smirked to himself at the admittance. It wouldn't be the first time he'd heard as much.

"I thought you had a crush on the warrior princess," Locke teased.

"I do. She still scares the hell out of me."

"Me too," Dunham agreed. "But she is pretty."

"Sexy is more like," someone else sniggered. "Chains and whips…"

"Hey." Mark snapped unintentionally, his sharp tone successfully getting their attention.

Mark was well aware that Alicia was an attractive woman. She had dark, exotic features and she obviously took good care of herself. She was a beautiful person, both on the outside and on the inside too to the rare few she let in, and it would be worrisome if people _didn't _take notice.

Just because he thought of her as a sister, didn't mean Mark was blind… or oblivious.

Hearing innocent comments about crushes and how pretty she was were fine by him. He was even okay when people called her the warrior princess—because _she_ actually approved of the title. She was the most formidable person he had ever encountered, so he understood the fear she inspired.

However hearing a bunch of hormonal young men discuss her in other terms had his already bolstering temper rising, because as far as he was concerned, _no one had the right to talk about her like that. _His eyes narrowed of their own accord, glaring at the offender in a way that clearly conveyed his ire.

The man shrunk away from him. "I didn't mean anything by it, man,"

Mark scowled at him viciously in return.

"Better not have," Haze snickered. "Washington would break you in half with her pinky finger if she ever heard what you just said."

A moment later Mark tore his eyes away from the cowering imbecile as the doors opened once more, finally giving way to Commander Taylor. He strode to the front of the room, turning to look at the curious soldiers before he shook his head, an air of disappointment shrouding him. Behind him, Lieutenant Guzman shuffled in, burdened with a large stack of plexipaper.

"Some of you might be aware what this meeting is about," he said gruffly, eyeing certain individuals meaningfully. His gaze came to rest on Mark, and they softened for perhaps just a millisecond before his forehead wrinkled with a disapproving frown. "For those of you who don't, it has recently come to my attention that many of you have been behaving dishonorably."

Tension rose in the room, people glancing around in apprehension. Some of them were clearly still unsure what the commander was talking about; others were shifting uneasily in their seats with guilty eyes. To be fair, Mark could only recognize about three he had seen boasting about their latest conquests and collecting their winnings out of the twenty or so men present.

"Some of you," the commander continued heavily. "Believe that it acceptable conduct to treat the civilians we are protecting, as little more than a game and a paycheck. To play with their hearts and emotions for your own amusement…"

Mark saw one of the men who had been speaking earlier take a shuddering breath. It was the one Haze had verbally threatened earlier; there was a nervous trickle of sweat on his neck, and he was glancing around almost desperately to some of the others he had obviously bet against.

Commander Taylor walked the length of the front wall, meeting the eyes of every single person, leaving them without a doubt that whatever he said next was meant to be taken as _law. _"That ends today."

Silence reigned at his declaration. No one dared to counter him either.

"To ensure that nothing of this nature happens again," the commander said. "I will be instigating a few new codes of conducts, and you best abide by them. Anyone who feels as if they _cannot_ abide by them; I will be accepting your resignation immediately. Anyone who is _caught _or _rightly accused _breaking these rules; pending a hearing, you will be discharged from service. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the collective soldiers called.

Commander Taylor nodded his head in approval. "Good. There are a lot of good men in here, and it would be a shame to lose any one of you. Guzman here," He glanced over at the other man, who had so far remained forgotten near the door. "Will be handing out our new regulations now… I don't expect many of you to understand it at first, which is why we will be discussing it in length until each and every one of you understands what is now expected of you to remain in service."

Lieutenant Guzman moved down each row of chairs, supplying a stack of plexipaper for each soldier to take. One by one the handouts were distributed to everyone present, and the commander gave them a chance to look it over. Several people around him murmured in confusion as they began reading, and Mark promptly choked on air as he too began to read it.

The first word, written in bold, capitalized print at the top of the handout made him flush, his eyes immediately going to the commander for confirmation. _Seriously…? _He lifted his eyebrows incredulously. He rested his elbow against the armrest, sinking into his chair as all he got was a smirk in return from the older man.

Mark glanced back down on the sheet with a sigh.

**COURTING**

"Dude," Haze asked just in front of him. "What the hell is courting?"

"Beats me," Locke shrugged, adding, "Some kind of punishment? Like, we're going to court?"

Mark sank deeper into his seat, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. This had not been what he'd had in mind when he asked the commander for dating advice the other day.

In hindsight, the comment Alicia made yesterday about Commander Taylor approving of his method should have tipped him off. It was probably a subtle warning that meant, naturally, it would be enforced on everyone else too.

Mark could say with complete honesty and full confidence that the next few hours was the most equally educational and traumatizing experience of his life—and that included the time Alicia had walked in on him while he was in the shower. His only consolation was that he was not alone in his horror as he left the conference, and there were about twenty others who had the same gob smacked look on their faces as he did.

Dismissed from the meeting, they all shuffled out in a subdued way until they were clearly out of earshot of the commander or his lieutenant. The noise level rose as people began to discuss what had just occurred, and unfortunately they had to block the exits as they stood around to do so. He tried to filter it all out, ignoring the mixed reactions to the new regulations as he pushed his way through.

It made no difference to him whether or not his comrades approved. He didn't particularly like hearing some of the comments he was hearing, and his hands balled into fists before he could stop them.

Mark was just glad that real measured had been taken to ensure that certain activities would be dealt with. He knew that it wouldn't stop completely at first. People would probably think twice about it, but it would only do so much; at least, not unless someone actually broke the rules and managed to get dishonorably discharged.

"I think it's kind of nice," Dunham admitted just beside him.

"Nice?" Haze snorted. "Are you crazy? This is _gold. _The ladies will love it."

"I don't know," someone frowned. "Seems like a lot of work to me."

"That is why they will love it," Haze insisted. "Having to romance them? It's like something out of a fairy tale. Trust me, dude, when you go up to a girl and declare that you've spoken to her father and would like to invite her on a picnic, she'll like you a lot more than if you just ask her out."

"Well I think its bullshit," Even Mark paused in his attempts to escape at the contempt coming from the man who had spoken, turning to look at him. "Some chick went crying to him, and now Taylor is punishing us all for something some idiots did? It's stupid. No one is really going to stick with it,"

"I am," Locke said evenly. Haze and Dunham nodded, along with the majority of the people in the hallway. "I might get a few things wrong at first, but I like it."

"Fine, have fun," the other man scoffed. "Taylor was probably bluffing though. I mean, we protect the colony and the people in it; why would he fire us over a couple hurt feelings?"

Mark set his jaw. "You claim that you protect the people, and yet you dislike a law that protects them from others that would hurt them?" he interjected coldly, crossing his arms over his chest. He met his eyes evenly, the other man faltering slightly at his angry countenance, waiting for an answer.

"… Yeah," He finally nodded, seemingly regaining some confidence. "Yeah, Reynolds, I do. So someone else screwed up. I've never treated a girl like that before, and I don't want to be punished for something I didn't do. So screw it. I refuse."

"Curran," Haze said sharply. "Shut up, dude."

Mark gritted his teeth in aggravation. He knew he should walk away.

Today was not the day to pick a fight. He was just in a foul mood, the anticipated dread of seeing his brother after so long only just the start of it. His temper had been flaring at just the slightest remark, and he was having a sunshine withdrawal with his self-imposed exile from Maddy today. He should go home, or work it out in the gym before he did something stupid.

Then Curran raised a challenging eyebrow at him.

"No," Mark said furiously before he could stop himself. "No, he is entitled to an opinion, and he disagrees with this. It doesn't make any difference. He still has to abide by the rules or he _will_ face the consequences of his actions."

"Taylor was bluffing," Curran said, rolling his eyes. "We lose people out in that damn jungle every day—he isn't going to sacrifice more for a cause like this."

"Tim, come on man," Locke broke in quietly. "Just—"

"Just because you're afraid of him, Tyler," Curran said him coolly, never once removing his eyes from Mark. "Doesn't mean that I am... he can go to Taylor for all I care. It won't make a difference," He raised the paper that had been handed out, scoffing as he gazed over the contents. "Half of this shit looks made up," He let it fall to the ground. "So I plan to seduce Shannon _my_ way, and not by—"

Mark went absolutely still the moment he heard the name. He could hear no more, the sound of his own blood rushing through his ears suddenly more prominent as he clenched his jaw furiously. He was filled with an instinctive, primal fury that surged through him, possessiveness unlike anything he had ever felt controlling his actions before he could even pause to think about the consequences.

Curran was slammed into the wall with enough force to grab the attention of everyone who had not already been watching the confrontation, and Mark held him there with the length of his forearm pressing into the tender tissue of his throat. He felt hands suddenly grabbing at his shoulders, a distant buzz in his ears as people shouted, but he paid them no heed as he stared deep into fearful eyes.

"You listen to me very, very carefully, because I am only going to say this _once,_" he hissed softly, his voice barely above a whisper but strong enough to carry throughout the hallway. "It doesn't bother me either way if you approve or not about the courting rule, but you damn well will follow it to the letter. If you don't… if you hurt her…"

Mark trailed off dangerously, his eyes flashing with pure, unrestrained rage as he left the rest up for interpretation. He needn't finish the sentence. His threat had been implied, and judging by the frantic scratching on his forearm, Curran clearly believed he would follow through with it.

_Good... _he thought viciously, slowly easing up on the pressure he was applying.

Mark would stop him.

If Curran thought for one second that he would just allow this callous interloper to go anywhere near her without pure intentions, he was sorely mistaken. _Madelyn Shannon is mine, _he thought, seriously tempted to place even more pressure on the throat he was close to crushing. He could not recall the last time he had been so angry.

Earnest hands finally gripped his shoulders with enough strength to pull him away from the other man, Mark suddenly on the complete other side of the wall as several people surrounded the man who fell to the floor, gasping for air. He watched him inhale frantically with satisfaction curling in his stomach.

Heart racing with adrenaline, Mark took a few deep breaths of his own as he finally regained some control. Had he always been so possessive? He had never thought so before. He knew intellectually that he did not _own _Maddy. She was her own person. He had no right to… to _claim _her.

Mark had been expecting others to take notice of her. It was why he was so grateful to Alicia for giving him the opportunity to meet her first. He had just been hoping that they would not notice her existence until after he had already secured his place in her heart.

A sudden urge to find her came to mind, and Mark seriously wondered if she could be up in that old tower right now. She could have been waiting for him. He needed to be around her, to calm himself down because he felt irrational and out of control.

If someone else wanted her so soon, it was only a matter of time before she began noticing them as well. Could he step aside if someone else decided to pursue her? … _No_. Mark wasn't sure he could. He wasn't sure if he had the willpower to step aside. He could try… if he knew it was what she wanted. It would hurt like hell though.

"Marcus!"

Mark blinked at the sound of his name, abruptly becoming aware of the fact that he was outside and… when the heck had that happened? He exhaled a haggard breath, and tried to assess his condition as he glanced around. His hands were still shaking from lingering traces of fury, and he realized that he had several people holding him in place.

Someone was holding onto each arm, another hand pressing into his chest from the front to push him back. Someone was behind him too, both arms coming around to secure around his middle in an attempt to haul him even further away from the building until it was entirely out of sight.

Haze was to his left, watching his face with apprehension as he gripped his shoulder in an unyielding hold. Lock and Dunham were just in front of them, the former pushing against him, guarding warily as if they thought he might try and run past to finish Curran off. He faltered briefly when he recognized who was holding onto his right arm, face set in deep concern.

Kenneth Foster. Mark had not seen Ken in six months.

Apprehension filled his gut as he realized the implications, Mark twisting his head around slowly to glance at the final person keeping him at bay. His brother watched him with eyes that revealed nothing, his mouth moving as he whispered calming words that Mark could barely understand.

"That's it, Marcus, _breathe_," he heard, slowly doing as he was told. "Take in a deep breath… now release it. Again… slowly… in and out…" Michael was following his own instructions, going through the same motions with him, and Mark closed his eyes as he tried to obey. "What did he do?"

"Dude," Haze said. "He just _snapped._"

"Did you see how fast he moved?" Dunham asked in a quiet, shocked voice. "I thought he was going to take Tim's head off."

"Not him," Michael cut in impatiently. "What did the guy on the floor do to set him off? Marcus would never attack someone without first being provoked."

"Yeah," Ken agreed. "What the hell did Curran do?"

"It was about the new courting rules Commander Taylor instigated," Locke answered them. "Tim was mouthing off about how stupid it was and… well, you saw what happened."

Mark opened his eyes, tired of being discussed as if he were not there. "I'm fine," he said, trying to shake them off, but it only made them grip him tighter. "Get the hell off of me." He sighed. "I'm calm. See? I'm _fine._"

Perhaps it would have been more believable without the anger present in his tone.

For a tense moment, the five men regarded him carefully. He tried to convey a calm image, but Curran's words were still too fresh in his minds. His mouth was set into a scowl, and his forehead was creased with frustration. His breaths were coming out in angry puffs, despite the breathing exercises his brother had been talking him through, and his hands were still clenched into tight balls.

"_Get off._"

Dunham quickly backed away with wide eyes. Locke and Haze shared a look before stepping away cautiously, though still within reach should it prove to be a bad idea, and Ken sighed, running a hand through his hair as he shook his head.

"Michael," he bit out sharply when it became apparent that his brother had no intention of doing the same. He sighed in relief when, after a brief hesitation, the arms slid away from him. He rolled his eyes, turning to look at the man he had previously been dreading to see. "You look like hell."

Michael quirked his lips momentarily, before he frowned. "You got into a fight," he said, his voice tinged in disbelief. "You never fight."

Haze snorted from beside him. "Clearly you don't know him very well. He took down _Washington_ in a round of hand to hand first day of training."

"Shut up, Paul," Locke hissed quietly, jabbing his friend with his elbow.

"… You enlisted?"

A lot of things had changed in six months. He was a member of the security force. He cut his hair. He had his own home. He had a new attitude. He was practically another person now. He certainly felt like someone else now. Mark met eyes identical to his own, his anger suddenly giving way to exhaustion.

"Yeah," he replied tiredly, giving his face a weary rub. He glanced back at the others, smiling tightly at them. "Thanks for…" He shrugged, unsure what the proper decorum was for pulling him off of someone before he could crush their throat.

"No problem man," Locke nodded. "… Take it easy."

"Yeah, dude," Haze agreed. "Try not to kill anyone else for a while." Dunham just swallowed fearfully, following them as they began to withdraw.

Mark looked at his brother when they were gone. He had no idea what to say to him, and apparently neither did Michael; he turned slowly and began walking away without another word. It hurt. He couldn't deny that it did. Every time he watched Michael walk away, it was like a blow to the gut.

"Just give him time, Mark," Ken said, patting him on the back. "You gonna be okay, kid?"

Mark only sighed. "What do you care? You're his friend, not mine."

Ken gave him a decidedly unimpressed look for the attitude. "Mark, I have known you since you were a scrawny little thing with girly hair," he said evenly, and Mark flushed at the description. "… I know you, and despite what you might think, you're my friend just as much as he is."

"… Yeah, I'll be okay." he said finally.

Ken nodded. "Okay. I'll have to catch up with you later. I've been on the road all night, and I just want to get home, and go to sleep…" He gave Mark one last pat on the back before departing.

Mark felt restless. He thought the idea of going home was a good notion, though he knew he had too much on his mind to actually rest there. He was seriously considering asking someone to spar with him to get rid of all his excessive energy.

"R-Reynolds?" he heard, and his eye twitched as he turned. Curran flinched as he looked at him, looking down to the ground as he continued. "I just… I wanted you to know I never _meant… _I just… I would never hurt someone like that, the bets and everything, I just wanted to piss you off… guess I got more than I bargained for," He touched his throat gently. "I promise I'm going to court her!"

Mark thought he may have growled a bit.

"Or… j-just leave Shannon alone entirely," Curran added with a shudder. "… My intentions have always been honorable, and even though Mr. Holtz scares me, I will—would have gone to him to ask his permission before I approached her."

Mark felt as if he were missing something. "Mr. Holtz?"

Curran nodded slowly. "Shannon's father…"

Mr. Shannon was Maddy's father. Who the hell was Mr. Holtz? He couldn't… it was… No, he couldn't have. Mark felt his body shake, this time without anger, as he began to connect the dots. He released an incredulous laugh, burying his face in his hands for a minute.

"Shannon _Holtz_?" he repeated. "The girl you planned to seduce—"

"Romance!" Curran hastily corrected, and he looked unsure and frightened when the correction only made the other man laugh harder. "Not seduce… _romance._"

Mark shook his head at his own stupidity. "Oh," he sighed, scratching the back of his neck. He had gone completely insane over a mistaken name. It was the _wrong _Shannon. Curran still looked terrified of him; he couldn't blame the poor guy. Mark had nearly decapitated him back there, after all. "… So… your intentions… are honorable."

Curran slowly began to relax, an earnest look on his face. "Yes, sir,"

Mark lifted his eyebrows, trying not to smirk at the title. He could get used to that. "You should go ask her father permission immediately," he said casually, deciding to make up for his explosion by giving the man a little nudge. "Treat her to a nice dinner tonight."

"Of course," Curran turned, pausing moment later. "I have an evening shift tonight in an outpost tower."

Oh.

Mark frowned, glancing at his watch. His shift had been over for hours now, and he could really use the distraction. Besides, he did feel a bit guilty for overreacting. "When does your shift start?"

It was hours later that Mark signed out for the second time. He had decided to cover the shift for Curran in order to make up for what happened. He was pretty sure the other man would refer to him as _sir _for the rest of eternity now, and apparently word had spread like wildfire through the lower ranks about his outburst.

Needless to say, no one had any intentions of deviating from the new rules any time soon.

Mark had plenty of time to dissect his reaction while stuck up in the tower for eight hours, the moon now looming high in the sky as he walked home. He could not believe he had been so violent, even though at the time he'd thought it was justified. He was still a bit upset, and mostly furious with himself.

There were over twenty witnesses who could report him to command, and he was not looking forward to that conversation. Alicia was going to be pissed at him, and probably disappointed. He didn't even want to think about what Commander Taylor would have to say.

A soft jingle stilled him as he trudged through the dark streets, and Mark stiffed for a brief moment before he reacted. He spun around, hand resting on his firearm in case he needed to draw it. He felt himself tense even more when he realized that disturbing the peace of the night was the one person he didn't trust himself around today.

Madelyn Shannon.

Mark knew she had seen him though, and he could not leave her alone out here. He could never leave her out here, vulnerable and alone in the dark. He sighed as he began to approach her. She was sitting upon a swing, the chains having made the noise that alerted him to her presence. He realized only now that he was at the playground, just outside of the school.

Maddy looked peaceful as she idly swung, her hands resting on a journal forgotten in her lap. He frowned as he reached her, trying to keep his tone even as he spoke, though he was afraid it came out sharper than he intended.

"What are you doing out here this late?" he asked, inwardly scolding himself when she peered up at him with uncertainty, biting down on her lip. This was exactly why he had wanted to avoid her today. He needed to control himself before he unintentionally hurt her with some scathing remark.

"… Watching." she replied in a soft voice.

Mark frowned doubtfully. "… Watching?"

"What are _you _doing?"

Good question. He had no idea what he was doing. He felt lost and confused. He had been expecting today to be bad. He just hadn't realized how bad it would become.

"Outpost duty on the fence," he said finally with a sigh, rubbing at his face as if that might make his frown go away. "Just a long, boring shift of standing around doing nothing unless something happens. Nothing ever does. Even the Sixers keep indoors at night."

Mark gave her a pointed look. He obviously needed to have a talk with her about her exploring, because it was not safe to do at night, definitely not while alone.

"You don't need to keep me company, you know," she told him quietly. "You can go home and get some rest, especially since you look like you need it."

Mark felt his eyebrows rise involuntarily at the suggestion, shaking his head at her. Despite his reservations, he could already feel himself calming down. She had such an effect on him; she probably didn't even realize how much. He felt better than he had all day long, just after three minutes of being in her presence.

It was official—Mark was an idiot for even trying to avoid her today. How could he even think he could make it one day without her? Maybe that was why he was in such an unpleasant mood today, feeling ready to snap at anyone who looked at him wrong; he'd been in Maddy withdrawal.

Spying the vacant swing beside her, deciding that he would stay with her for however long she wanted to be out here, he has. The chains of the play set groaned beneath his weight, and he idly hoped they wouldn't break. It would be incredibly embarrassing if that happened, and wouldn't that just be the icing on the cake for him to fall on his ass in front of her?

"What are we watching?" he asked once he settled, glancing around curiously for anything. It was quiet though, not another soul in sight. He looked at her curiously, watching as she swayed in place, her eyes slowly taking in the scene.

"Just… watching," she repeated. "… and listening… listening and watching."

"… To what?"

"Nothing." Maddy said gently. "Everything."

Mark watched as her eyes slid closed, a soft smile forming at her lips. He was slowly becoming more open to learning everything she wanted to learn. He was still struggling to understand some of the things she told him, and he really was trying but… he could see nothing except for sand and toys for children to play with.

Eventually he gave up, his eyes watching her instead.

"Do you ever just lie beneath the stars after watching them slowly fade into sight?" she whispered, her eyes finally opening after a long moment, and she turned to him. He shook his head slowly, and her smile grew as she rose from the swing.

Maddy placed the book aside, and held out her hand expectantly. He might have stared at in in surprise for a moment. She allowed him to hold her hand. The previous day she had allowed him to do it for hours as he guided her through the fields. He was always the one to initiate it though, to touch her in some way.

The only time she did was by accident.

Mark could not contain his smile as he took her hand, savoring the feel of her soft skin sliding against his palm as he curled his fingers around hers. He could be content to do this every day for the rest of his life. He allowed her to lead him forward, unsure exactly what she was doing. She kept glancing up at the sky, a calculating gleam in her eyes.

Maddy finally came to a stop, slowly kneeling down and giving his hand an encouraging tug. He froze a bit as she released him, suddenly spread out across the sand with her hands resting across her stomach, her hair creating a dark halo around her.

_God, she is beautiful_.

Swallowing his sudden nerves, Mark began to remove the upper pieces of his armor, rubbing his chest a bit in relief. He had been wearing it all day, and it felt good to finally remove the added stress it caused on his back.

Licking his lips unsurely, he realized that he would be lying beside her, alone.

Mark decided perhaps it would be best to provide some distance between them, because the thought was too tempting and he needed to keep his hands to himself. He made himself comfortable in the sand, cupping the back of his head in an attempt to control the compulsive urge to touch her as he looked up at the sky above.

Maddy was staring at the stars with an expression of wonder and contentment. He would give anything to know what she was thinking in that moment. She shivered a bit, and he realized that she was only wearing that same maroon dress she'd been wearing days ago. It was not the best thing to wear out here, the soft breeze making the air cool. But then she smiled, so he hoped it was okay, because he had nothing to offer her to keep her warm.

"Do you know how many stars are in just this galaxy alone?" she asked him, her soft voice slowly leeching away any remaining tension in his body. He had no idea how many stars there were, but he was curious. "Before the skies got so polluted, astronomy was the study of the stars and planets. A lot of the more visible stars were recognizable by forming familiar shakes; constellations… but the stars are a bit different here."

"Do you recognize any of them?" Mark asked, almost positive she did. He grinned to himself when her hand rose, pointing toward a bright star.

"I'm pretty sure that one there is Polaris," Maddy told him, and he could hear the smile in her voice as she lowered her arm. "… the Northern star, and part of the Ursa Minor constellation. Sailors would use it as a form of celestial navigation, and astronomers later used it as a fixed point to measure the stars. It could also be used as a reference to find Ursa Major, which was essentially just a larger version of the same constellation. Big Bear and Little Bear…"

Maddy always sounded so amazed when she explained anything to him. He loved how her voice sounded, especially when she became more excited. He knew that she loved everything she talked about just by the tone of her voice.

"Are you going to try and rediscover any of these constellations?" he asked, glancing at her as she laughed softly, shaking her head. "No? You already seem to know more about the stars than any I know…"

"Just what I've read in books," Maddy said with a smile. "It's beautiful, and would I be interested in a telescope? Probably…" she admitted. "For now I am content to just study things here on the ground. My journal is already completely full of everything just here on the settlement, so tomorrow I am probably going to have to use my plexpad to write down information. There's no room for another field of study."

Mark could hear the pang of disappointment in her voice. He would bet if she could, she would have a journal for each subject she wanted to learn where she could record her findings. He tried to remember how many she actually had with her. He had been sure, when he was in her house that one night, that there had been more than one, but he had only ever seen her with the one she had now.

"… Did you only bring one journal?"

Maddy released a sigh at his question. "I could only _fit _a few things. I was so excited to come here, but I just didn't realize how small my bag would actually be. I guess I was under the misconception that it would be just like moving. We all had to leave so much behinds…"

"Did you…" Mark was unable to finish his sudden thought. His heart nearly stilled with fear, because he had never even contemplated this before and he was afraid to know the answer. At the same time he _needed _to know, even if it might be a bit personal to ask. "Did you leave… someone behind?"

_Please say no…_ he pleaded, holding his breath as he tried not to look at her. He was sure she would know just how painful it was to ask if she looked at his face.

"No," she answered him, and Mark could not help the way his body eased. He exhaled quietly, wondering if she had noticed just how grateful he was to hear her answer. "Not even friends," she added a moment later. "People tended to avoid me for the most part…"

Mark turned his head completely, staring at her in complete confusion. "How is that possible?" he asked. How could anyone avoid her? He had tried to do so to spare her his temper today, and look at how great of an idea that turned out to be. She was impossible to avoid without repercussions.

Maddy shrugged her shoulders a bit, biting at her lip unsurely. She was silent for a long while, an aura of sadness around her that made it hurt to breathe. How did he always manage to bring up something that upset her? If people avoided her, of course it would upset her. He should not have pried into her business, because clearly he had overstepped with his question.

Mark heard her draw in a deep breath, and prayed she was not angry with him.

"Did you leave someone behind?" she asked instead, catching him off guard. "Friends or…"

Oh. Okay.

It never occurred to Mark that she might have the same worry. He knew what he wanted. He wanted her, forever and always, and in any capacity she was willing to offer him. He needed her to know that, even if he wasn't ready to say it aloud to her. He had to look into her eyes.

Therefore Mark rose, resting his weight on his elbow in the sand, turning so he could look down on her. She met his eyes, hesitant and perhaps a bit worried, her breath halted. "No," he said, and he watched in fascination as she seemed to come to life. "I was only a little older than Zoe when we first came here… so even if I had, it probably wouldn't have lasted anyway,"

Maddy erupted with a sincere laughter, deep and joyful that shook her entire body. Her eyes glowed beneath the moonlight, bright orbs of honey brown. He honestly loved her in the sunlight. She always had a glow about her, something in her that burned and seared into his retinas a beautiful image he needed to keep with him always.

However, there was something gorgeous about how she looked right now as well. She had shadows cast across her face, some wayward clouds drifting in front of the gigantic moon that loomed above them in the vast sky of diamond stars creating them. He smiled as he observed, trying to commit the image of her like this to his memory.

Something stirred within him as Mark studied her, and his mouth suddenly felt dry as his eyes came to rest on her parted lips. She had a beauty mark, just there in the corner. His mother used to call them angel kisses. Maddy had one, perfectly conspicuous on the left hand corner, although how could she possibly have an angel kiss when she was the angel?

_Kiss…_

Mark should have never thought about kisses because now all he can think about is how seamlessly within reach she is, just beside him. She shivered as he moved closer; closing the small distance he had placed between them when he had first lied down. He could feel warmth as he drew closer, his left hand rising slightly with a tremble as he supported himself fully on his right arm.

Maddy stared up at him, and he felt his eyes close a bit as he moved closer. He was addicted to her scent. She always smelled like something earthy and real, her herbs or flowers. He wondered how her mouth tasted, intent on finding out right now.

Reality slammed into him, as she made a small sound, a soft gasp as he began to close the last remaining inches between their lips. He realized then just how unsure she looked. She was still trembling, watching him with eyes that were a bit too uncertain. She said people avoided her, that she had not left love behind…

Had she ever been kissed before? What about his promise?

Mark had promised to court her. He even had some notion of how to accomplish it now that the commander had intervened. He still had so much to do before he could begin to progress in this. He had to speak with her parents, get her father to grant him permission.

What would Mr. Shannon say now if he saw Mark hovering over her like this, preparing to steal her first kiss before he had even made his intentions known yet to even her. How would it make Maddy feel for him to _take_ what he had yet to ask permission for?

It would ruin everything.

Mark forced himself away from her, flopping back down into the sand with a loud breath. He flung his arm over his eyes, knowing his resolve would weaken the moment he saw her eyes, and he could not take the chance. He needed to do this right; he _wanted _to do this right.

Maddy released a breath herself, and he heard her shuffle a bit as he tried to steady his pounding heart before it burst free from the confines in his chest. His fingers flexed of their own accord as he swallowed. He had never wanted something more in his lifetime than he did a single kiss from her, and yet he was denying himself that.

Anyone else would call him crazy, but he refused to treat her as some girl. She was Maddy, his sun and his whole world was beginning to revolve around her. He could treat her no less than how she deserved to be treated, even if it meant he had to sew his mouth shut to keep his lips from her.

"… Mark?" she said softly, and just as he was gathering up the strength to speak, he felt the presence of her hand near his chest.

Mark reacted quickly, not sure he could control himself if she touched him so willingly. He caught her hand, opening his eyes to look at her as he swallowed once more. She looked scared. He hated himself for instilling such an emotion in her, and immediately tried to comfort her by rubbing his thumb against the soft skin just inside her wrist.

Maddy released a soft sound at the gesture, her eyes falling closed.

_Oops… _he thought. That was a little counterproductive in his effort to control himself. He stilled his thumb, despite wanting to elicit the sound from her again. He watched her carefully, wondering how he could ease the moment.

Mark eventually gave her a small tug as he held his arm out invitingly. She looked down at him with a nervousness about her, and he tried to remain as still as possible as she finally resumed her lying down position, though this time on her side, her head coming to rest against his chest as he held her close.

This was nice. It was innocent. This he could handle.

Maddy began to relax against him, her body practically melting into a comfortable position. "… Are you okay?" she asked, cuddling closer as her arm moved over his chest. His breath hitched as she moved, and perhaps this had not been the greatest idea after all. He licked his parched lips, and was sure she could feel the rapid pace his heart kept under her hand.

Mark rubbed at his face briefly with his free hand. He had almost forgotten about everything that happened today. He loved that she could do that, how she could make every problem in his life seem trivial without even trying. "… Yeah," he said, surprisingly honest. "Everything is fine."

"… You seemed upset earlier."

Upset would have been an understatement after dealing with both Curran and Michael and his own conflicting emotions. "… Yeah," he said again, hoping she would let him get away without elaborating. He heard a soft sigh in response, and felt gratefulness surge when she said nothing else on the matter.

Maddy simply adjust her position, placing her head closer to his heart.

It was quiet. He heard the swings occasionally, the trees moving in the wind, though there was no disruption to the harmony between them. He wished they could do this every night.

Just hold her in his arms and just enjoy her presence, nothing but distant sounds of nature around them to interrupt. He should not be here with her though. He had been angry when others had mocked the new regulations, and here he was, alone with the young woman he intended to pursue and without permission from her family.

Mark would not act on his feelings yet though. He would resist, try to stay strong until she was ready, and then he would act. Hopefully by then he would be brave enough to face her father to ask his permission to court her.

"Best lullaby in the world,"

Mark almost missed her softly spoken words. "… What is?" he asked, and he smiled as she began to tap a gentle rhythm on his chest identical to the one within. He laughed gently, taking her hand to still the movement that mimed his heart. He intertwined their fingers, and placed them right back where they were. "Someone is tired."

Maddy merely made a soft sound in agreement. "Mm,"

"We should probably get you home."

"Mm…" she replied again, sounding far too comfortable and content. "What time is it?"

Mark kept his hand twined with hers as he glanced at his watch. He bit his lip when he realized they had been here for over an hour. "A little after midnight…" he said reluctantly, and she suddenly jerked upward, grasping his hand to look for herself. He was unable to quiet his chuckling at her reaction.

Maddy groaned miserably, running a frazzled hand through her hair. "I am in so much trouble," she gasped. "My father is going to kill me. I will never be allowed to leave the house ever again. He's going to ground me for the rest of eternity; I will be under house arrest until I am an old woman…"

Mark laughed at the pitiful whimper she released, shaking his head in amusement. "Give me a minute to get my things," he said. "I'll walk you home."

"You should get home too," she countered. "and I should probably just run all the way there so I'm not any later than I already am,"

Mark narrowed his eyes at her, grateful for the reminder. "You are not walking home this late by yourself," he said sternly. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her out here. She stared at him in surprise, and he sighed. "Maddy, I don't want you out here by yourself at night."

"Mark—" she began to protest.

"Promise me, Maddy," he begged. "It is dangerous at night, even inside the gates. Do you think that wall will stop an airborne predator from hunting here? If something comes from high enough up, and far enough away from an outpost, even the guards don't notice them sometimes. Promise me."

"I promise," Maddy agreed, nodding slowly. "Next time, I'll wait for you before coming out here."

Mark smiled and closed his eyes for a moment. He had only meant that she should not be out here without someone with her, just in case something happened, not that she had to wait only for him. He could not say he was unhappy by the declaration though.

If anything, he was pleased.

"You better," he said. He gathered his things quickly, and she quickly retrieved her journal. She moved beside him as they walked, and he intentionally grazed her hand with the intake to take it.

Maddy surprised him, however, slowly sliding her own into his before he could do it himself. He smiled, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, noting a similar smile in place on her lips along with a pleasant reddish hue to her cheeks.

Mark slowed as they reached her house. He felt a bit apprehensive that her father might really be upset with her for being out so late. It was his fault, and he reasoned that if he had managed to get her in trouble, he would have to face Mr. Shannon sooner than he thought in order to own up to his actions.

"Better go face the music," Maddy said quietly, slowly beginning to move away.

Mark refused to release her just yet. "Wait," She turned, looking at him curiously and he frowned to himself, wondering if he would be crossing a line here. He decided that if she responded badly, he would pull away and never attempt it again without her permission.

Quickly, before he lost his nerve, Mark leaned closer to her, sliding one arm around her shoulder as he held her close. She fit against him perfectly, her head resting against him as he placed his chin on top of it. He knew now he needed her more than he ever needed anything else. She calmed his soul.

"Thank you."

Mark felt his breath catch as her arms came up to wrap around him in return. "For what?" she asked him unsurely, though there was a pleasant note in her voice.

Mark smiled to himself. He would tell her one day, when he felt more confident that she would be receptive to just how intense his feelings were. "Goodnight, Miss Shannon," he said softly.

A slow smile that warmed his heart met him in response. "Goodnight, Mister Reynolds."


	4. Lemonade

**Chapter Four  
><strong>_Lemonade_

Mark was pleased to say that he was having a very productive morning. It was his day off, and he had finally been declared healthy enough this morning by Alicia to have access to the gym. Even though his previous bad mood had essentially evaporated like drops water in the sun, he did have some pent up energy that he enjoyed ridding himself of for a few hours.

After his nearly violent altercation with Timothy Curran yesterday, it was no real surprise that, instead of offering to spar with him, everyone had avoided even looking at him. He would have liked some hand to hand, though he supposed he could understand their apprehension. He had no real problem going through his own routines; it gave him time to think at least.

While he now had some direction concerning the whole courting front, Mark was still unsure if it was too early to broach the subject. He had succeeded in befriending Maddy, and she definitely seemed receptive to him, though the last thing he wanted to do was rush this. Her unintentional reaction to his near kiss last night had been telling, and now he knew that he had to tread carefully.

Mark had decided to befriend her first in order to get to know her, and he intended to stick with that mentality until he felt certain that she was ready to progress beyond friendship. He figured that Commander Taylor might be a bit more sympathetic to him not initiating the courtship right away, considering it had been his idea to begin with, and the man knew his intentions were honorable.

Therefore he would have to enforce his patience, because Mark wasn't interested in just one date with Maddy, he craved more than just one kiss. He wanted forever. He needed to make sure he did this right, and if that meant being a little patient while she discovered her own feelings, he could wait. She was worth it.

Muscles aching in a satisfying way, Mark showered in the gym before he decided to grab a quick lunch in the market. He was a bit tired, and it had been far too long since he'd been able to do something so physical despite the fact it had only really been a week since he was injured. He probably shouldn't have pushed himself so hard today, but he had to keep in mind that he needed to be in top condition if he wanted to go outside tomorrow.

Despite everything that was going on in his mind lately, he was well aware that tomorrow was the start of survival training. He had already downloaded the outline of what training would entail—the routes everyone would take, the subjects that needed to be covered, a list of students and volunteers—and he was wary despite his own reassurances that everyone would be safe.

It was just difficult not to worry; just because no incidents had happened previously, that didn't mean something wouldn't go wrong this time around. Terra Nova, no matter how safe within the walls, was still located in a hostile environment, and the training grounds were even more dangerous since there was no fence. He had a right to be on edge about it.

If he were honest with himself, his trepidation about this excursion was due to Maddy. He had initially been excited about being coerced into volunteering for escort duty for the new arrivals, because it meant he could be outside the gates for a change where it was thrilling and dangerous. His reservations about leaving now were for the exact same reasons.

"Mark!" someone called out and Mark turned to see Ken approaching him from the command building. He looked a bit less tired than yesterday and this time he was alone. Ken reached out and ruffled his hair with a grin, saying, "Hey, kid,"

Mark frowned at him. "I'm not a kid," he said defensively, smoothing the hair out sullenly. He scowled when the other man just laughed. "Did _he _send you?"

Ken frowned at him. "Lose the attitude, Mark."

"… Did he?"

"No," he sighed finally, though he still wore a disapproving frown. "I haven't seen him since we got back. I just saw you after the meeting, and wanted to make sure you were okay."

Mark frowned. "What meeting?" he asked.

"Courting," Ken said, and there was something off about his tone that Mark didn't really understand, something somber within that one word. The older man smiled a moment later, shaking his head briefly before he settled Mark with a look of concern. "You look better, today. Less pissed off,"

Mark rubbed the back of his neck with a grimace. "Yeah, well…" he shrugged. "I'm still a teenager, and we have anger issues."

"I saw your angry teenager phase, Mark," Ken rolled his eyes. "I've never seen you like that. What exactly did that punk say to you?" His question was met with silence, because it was not a topic that Mark wanted to share with anyone just yet. He would quite like to keep Maddy away from all of this drama for as long as he could. "Fine, kid, don't tell me."

"Not a kid," Mark huffed.

"Yes you are…" Ken smirked. "Get out of here, brat. Just keep out of trouble, okay?"

"I will," he promised reluctantly, releasing a sigh. "See you later?"

"Count on it, munchkin,"

"If you haven't notice," Mark called at his retreating back. "I'm not short anymore!"

Ken only laughed as he walked away. Okay, so perhaps Mark hadn't been thrilled initially to see the older man, but his presence was definitely more welcoming than his own brothers at the moment even if he didn't appreciate the '_kid_' comments and the reference to his height.

Mark finally reached the market, internally debating between the grill that served fried beetles or the one that had xiphactinus on a stick. He was a picky eater after all and neither sounded very appetizing at the moment, but it was either those or fruits and vegetables. His eyes unintentionally drifted toward a nearby fruit stand, and smiled unexpectedly when he saw her.

Maddy was browsing the market, a heavily burdened basket hanging from her arm. He would have thought she would have been exploring, or perhaps even in trouble after her late return home last night, though instead she was shopping.

It occurred to him that it had been long enough since her arrival that she could begin eating real food, and he recalled how eager she was to get off of the protein shakes. Maddy had a faintly determined air about her as she studied a fruit, and he could see her lips moving as she spoke quietly to herself before she lifted the fruit and smelled it with a smile.

Mark tried to recall what type of fruit it was and what it smelt like, but unfortunately he was drawing a blank. She seemed to like it however because she placed it in her basket and paid the vendor. He was just about to make his approach when Maddy suddenly turned her heel, looking at another shop to her left. He followed her line of sight as she began walking toward it.

It was a jewelry stand, he realized as he followed leisurely. He knew the owner had special permission to use scraps of iron for his trinkets, and that he would use the hard scales of shells of the sea life from the beach to carve designs on and polish. He had to admit that some of the items were intriguing, though he had only ever spared a glance before.

"May I?" Maddy asked the owner, gesturing toward a specific necklace that had apparently caught her interest just as Mark idled up beside her. He smiled at her intent concentration; she had not even sensed his presence, too enraptured with the necklace as she brought it closer to her face to examine.

Mark allowed her to unconsciously ignore him for a moment before he had to speak. "Find something you like?" he questioned, inwardly wincing at his own stealth when she suddenly spun around with a startled gasp. She exhaled a moment later, obviously recognizing him as she placed a hand over her heart with a smile.

"You scared me,"

Mark smiled in return. "My sincerest apologies, Miss Shannon," he said apologetically, his smile growing somewhat smug when her skin flushed. She turned quickly, placing the necklace in its place on the rack, but he was curious now to see what she had liked, and snatched it up in his own hands. "You didn't answer my question," he reminded her, surprised to see that the stone pendant was something he actually recognized. "This looks like that flower you were showing me… lilium para—" He hesitated, glancing at her and wondering if was saying the odd name correctly. "—dalnum?"

"Paradalinum," Maddy corrected, and he was pleased to see a proud gleam to her eyes as she beamed at him for obviously coming close enough. "This is a different variety, though the overall structure of the petal is similar."

Mark scrutinized the pendant for a few more seconds. It was small, no larger than the size of his thumb nail, though a lot of work had been done to carve intricate details. He thought it might have been made of a fish scale, due to the shine, though he couldn't be sure. She liked it though; that much was obvious considering just how carefully she had been inspecting it. He lifted it up to her neck, wondering just how expensive it was and already calculating how much money he had saved.

"It would look nice on you," he commented honestly, and Maddy blushed again as she took the necklace from his hands. He frowned at her disapprovingly as she put it back.

"Maybe another time," she said, smiling at the old man who was watching their interaction with a smile, and then she began walking away.

Mark gave the necklace one last considering look before he hurried to catch up to her. He hoped it would still be there when he returned later. "So," he said slowly, glancing at her curiously out of the corner of his eye. It was difficult to hide his smile when she peered up at him in return. "I thought you would be under house arrest," He didn't give her a chance to respond, instead peeking over his shoulder and leaning closer playfully. "Did you reconfigure another laser?"

Maddy stared up at him with shock, her eyes widening as her mouth dropped in reply to his whisper. He smiled slowly as realization swept over her features. He waited for her to blush again, or to smile and laugh at him for bringing it up again, however his mouth went dry when she drew in a breath and lightly smacked his chest.

"Shh," she shushed him with a grin, her voice just as quiet as his had been. "You'll give me away."

Honestly taken by surprise at her response, Mark was unable to contain his laugh. He had been subtly teasing her every chance he got, trying to draw out smiles and laughter as he promised himself he would, but she had never teased him in return before. He was glad to see she was more comfortable around him now. He smiled widely as she blushed a moment later, shrugged her shoulders a bit.

Mark had to be making some progress if she was being more open with him, right? He liked it. It was just another layer to the mystery he was trying to unravel that was Madelyn Shannon.

"No house arrest," she said. "Just grocery duty,"

Mark was pleased that she had not punished too badly for staying out so late. He had been a bit worried that she would be in as much trouble as she had been imagining the night before. He eyed the basket in her arms, his mouth wrinkling in disgust at the vegetables inside. "I'll stick to prepackaged foods, thank you," he said, continuing when she frowned in confusion, "Frozen foods rationed into meals I can reheat in about one minute. You can purchase them at the commissary,"

"That can't be all you eat," Her voice was appalled. "Those can't be very nutritious."

Mark did eat more than the rationed packets, though not of his own free will. He did enjoy the meals Alicia made for him, but she only came around a few days out of a week. "Probably not, but they taste good and they're quick,"

Maddy narrowed her eyes at him, and he was wary to see the same calculating gleam in her eyes that Alicia got when she scoured his cabinets for meal ideas. He had a sneaking suspicion that if those two ever met, they would form some kind of unholy alliance to ensure he was eating healthy. He shuddered inwardly at the mere thought, already imagining a life of salads and shrubs.

Mark watched as she studied the contents of her basket, noticing with concern at just how heavy the basket was. The handle was definitely cutting into her forearm, and she was struggling to hold it. He bit his lip, wondering if she would be offended if he offered to carry it. She shifted it in her arms a moment later, and he frowned at the reddish tinged to her arm as the basket slipped a bit.

"Can I take those?" he asked, already reaching for it.

"No, it's alright."

Mark decided to take it anyway, gently removing it from her grasp before she could say anything contrary, and holding it with one hand as he raised his eyebrows at her. She pursed her lips for a moment, though only to try and hide the smile as she sighed and she rubbed at the arm.

"Where to next?"

It was incredibly fun to tease Maddy. She had first tried to offer him a way out of basically becoming a shopping cart for her groceries, and he had responded with a disappointed sigh and a sullen frown as he commented on how she didn't want him around. She only realized he was teasing her when he was unable to contain his smile anymore through her stammered apologies.

Maddy finally began bantering with him when he took great delight in arguing with her over her choice in foods. She got frustrated easily, her cheeks flushing and her mouth twitching. Her eyes were bright and full of mirth, even as she huffed and reclaimed the vegetables he subtly began removing from her basket to replace with sweets.

Okay, so he knew he was laying the charm on thick. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing, so he just tried to elicit smiles from her, and thankfully she seemed to be enjoying his subtle attempts at flirting. Overall it was the most fun he had ever had shopping for groceries. He wondered if she would let him join her again next time.

Mark was able to get purchase his own lunch, though only after his stomach growled embarrassingly in front of her. She had been disturbed when he ordered xiphkabobs, though that could have been because the vendor had offered her a grilled fish head when he bought his own skewer. He doubted he could ever tempt her into trying it once she was off the protein shakes tomorrow.

It was not long until Mark followed her back to her house. He eyed the doorjamb uncertainly as she held the door open for him, although he wasn't about to let her carry anything else in when she had already accumulated an armful herself. Her house was quiet, and he could see some subtle changes from when he was last inside.

By no means was the house complete, but there were some improvements to make it more livable than there was last week. He was glad to see the doors to the rooms had been installed, at the very least—it would offer everyone some privacy. He idly wondered if Maddy had been able to purchase her bed yet, since the house had only come with the one which had been offered to her sister.

"Where should I put these?" he asked, following her into the kitchen, waiting patiently as she quickly moved to clean some space on the counter for him. Not quite willing to leave just yet, Mark took his time removing the groceries from the basket and the bags, slowly setting them out so she could put them away.

"Thank you for helping me today," Maddy said, her eyes shining as she looked up at him. "I don't think I would have been able to carry this all by myself without making a few trips…"

Mark smiled in return. "My pleasure, Miss Shannon,"

Maddy blushed and ducked her head slightly, rummaging through her purchases as she turned around to put things away. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, absently moving the same round fruit back and forth in his hands in an effort to seem occupied. He finally managed to tear his eyes away, only to pause when he saw what he was holding.

It was something he recognized that the fruit vendors in the market put out to scam newcomers into buying. The fruit was large, round and bright, easily catching attention of people browsing. Admittedly it smelled nice, but it was something that no one ever made the mistake of buying twice due to just how sour it was. The only people who voluntarily bought it knowingly used it to scent soaps.

"Maddy," Mark said uneasily, angry that someone had taken advantage of her. He had half a mind to go tell off the person who dared to sell it to her. "People in the market put this fruit out every time a new pilgrimage arrives," he told her. "Because the color attracts unsuspecting customers and while it has a pleasant scent—"

"I know," Maddy grinned at him. "It's sour enough to make your face pucker."

"… Why did you buy it then?"

"Lemonade," she said with a smile, removing a root from its packing before reaching for a bowl out of the cabinet and removing some kind of shredder from a drawer. He watched uncertainly as she laid it all out. "Well, sort of, since these aren't actual lemons. Can you grab a knife and cut it in half?"

Mark pulled a large knife from the stand she gestured to, and gave the fruit a wary look. He'd had a lemon before, and just like this fruit, it had been bright and smelled nice. He never ventured into his mother's garden again after taking a bite of it though, having learned his lesson not to be enticed again.

"What exactly is lemonade?" he asked cautiously, cutting the fruit. He glanced at her as she leaned closer, her eyes closing as she smiled, inhaling deeply. He had to admit, he found her fascination with it endearing, despite knowing that it smelled better than it looked.

"Lemonade is a beverage made from water, the juice of a lemon, and sugar to sweeten and remove the intense bitterness of the juice," she explained, accepting the halved slice he offered her. He watched curiously as she held one hand over a measuring cup, the other one holding the fruit above it as she began to squeeze. Juice ran through her fingers, the seeds of the fruit lodged in the palm of her hand.

Maddy picked the seeds out, setting them aside on the counter, and he was surprised to see that instead of using the towel beside her to dry her hand, she gave it an inquisitive stare. She lifted it to her face, inhaling once again, and her teeth captured her bottom lip as she paused thoughtfully.

Mark felt his gut tighten unexpectedly as he realized her intentions. Her brown eyes were bright and questioning as she looked up at him, and his entire body was still as he watched in anticipation. She tilted her head a bit with a frown, biting her lip once more, and then slowly slipped a finger into her mouth.

_I'm screwed._

Mark gripped the countertop, his entire body practically vibrating with the effort not to close the distance between them to capture her wrist and sample her fingers himself. He would gladly eat every single one of those horrible fruits if she just let him taste her fingers just this once.

This had to be some kind of test of willpower. He was failing miserably, stifling a groan as her eyes closed, her features considering as she suckled on the digit. He never should have let her do that; he should have tried to stop it, because now his mind was full of very inappropriate thoughts and, _oh hell_, he needed to get out of here before he embarrassed himself.

Mark forced his own closed as well, forcibly breathing through his mouth as he tried to force his thoughts away from her. She was not some faceless fantasy, she was Maddy. Sweet, intelligent, _innocent _Maddy, who deserved more than his lust because she was precious and delicate and he would ruin everything if he didn't find a way to calm himself down.

Maddy said something, though the words were a meaningless string of consonants that barely even registered in his hormone driven brain. She was teasing him again, something about babies and _whoa_, _no more teasing, no more, please stop_ because that just sent his mind down a whole new inappropriate path. He forced himself to laugh, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling as he shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to turn away from her.

_Deep breaths_, he told himself. _Deep, deep breaths… _

"So," Mark croaked unsteadily, hoping to distract himself. He cleared his throat, steadily avoiding looking at her as he finally removing his gaze from the ceiling and instead looking at the remaining items on the counter. "What's next?"

"Do you want to grate the sugar root while I fill the pitcher?" she asked, and Mark took the bowl and the shredder, giving the root a bewildered look as he avoided her eyes. Maddy apparently sensed his confusion, because a moment later she had placed the root in his hand as she moved beside him, coaching him through it.

Mark was hard pressed not to tense up as he felt her hand enclose over his own, trying not to think about what her hand had been doing moments prior as she directed him. It was easier than he thought it was; her voice was soft now and no longer teasing, and it put him at ease as she moved his hand back and forth, the bowl filling with a fine powder with each sweep.

Slowly, Mark nodded his head. "Okay," he said slowly, swallowing the thickness lodged in his throat. He felt whatever lingering intensity fade as she stepped away, allowing him the time he needed to collect himself more fully. He paused as he heard her begin humming, smiling to himself before he continued to grate the root. Her humming made him wonder if she could sing.

Maddy had a unique voice, and he would bet she had a beautiful singing voice. He was always fascinated with how breathless she would become when speaking rapidly. He also noticed that sometimes she would say words a certain way, almost with tinged with a hint of the accent her mother possessed. He doubted she even realized it, and it was only on certain words, such as _pigment._ She said that word a lot in reference to her flowers, and he always grinned when she pronounced it as _'pigmunt_'.

As he heard the water turn on, Mark suddenly froze as the front door opened. He had the sudden irrational fear of Mrs. Shannon the moment she became visible, pausing in surprise on the other side of the counter when she saw him. He swallowed, realizing this was the second time Mrs. Shannon had caught him in her house… alone with her daughter.

_Shit._

"Oh," the woman said with mild surprise, though she didn't sound angry. She glanced between him and Maddy with a curious eye, and then simply smiled. "Hello there,"

"Hello Mrs. Shannon," Mark said quietly, biting his lip as he wondered if he should offer her his hand. He had already met her before, and his hands were a bit sticky from the powdered root mingling with the sweat in his palms, so he decided against it.

"Elisabeth, please," Mrs. Shannon requested, noticing the ingredients for the lemonade with a curious frown before she looked back up at him. "I recognize you. You were here the other night, yes?" she prompted. "You sat with the girls?"

Mark nodded slowly. "Yes, ma'am,"

Mrs. Shannon smiled again, and he unintentionally relaxed under her warm gaze. "Thank you so much for doing that…?" she trailed off, giving him a questioning look. He was almost a bit disappointed to realize she didn't remember his name, but he saw her eyes slide to her daughter and realized she did remember, she was just avoiding mentioning their first encounter because of the circumstances.

Mark smiled gratefully. "Marcus Reynolds, ma'am,"

"Well Marcus," she smiled. "Thank you again. That was very kind of you."

"It was my pleasure," he said, glancing to the side with a soft smile.

"Maddy, could I speak to you for a moment, sweetheart," Mrs. Shannon said abruptly, and the young lady in question grimaced at the request.

Mark watched them retreat down the hallway, biting his lip in unease. Perhaps his presence here really was unwanted, no matter how nice Mrs. Shannon was to him. Had he managed to get her into trouble? God, he hoped not. He wanted her parents to trust him with her, and here he was, alone with her in her house.

"Mother!" he heard Maddy cry.

…

_Uh oh… _Mark _had_ gotten her in trouble.

Mark was in a silent war with himself for several minutes, glancing at the door, wondering if it would be best for him to just leave and spare Mrs. Shannon the effort of asking him to. He should have realized he was overstepping his boundaries. He should have never come into her home without her permission from her parents first—no matter how terrified of Mr. Shannon he was—especially not when there was no one else present to make sure nothing inappropriate happened between them.

Despite knowing he should leave, Mark couldn't bring himself to just walk out without saying something. It would be rude and he had already screwed up enough as it is without adding a lack of manners to the list. Besides, when he left he had to at least say goodbye to Maddy, and possibly apologize for getting her in trouble. So no matter how uncomfortable he felt waiting, he stood his ground.

Mark blinked in surprise as he felt a sharp pain in his finger, looking to find the rest of the sugar root had disintegrated into powder somehow during the past few minutes until he had actually run his fingertip across the blade. He grimaced, quickly moving to the sink to place the grater in the sink as he ran his finger under water. He wasn't bleeding, but it had definitely hurt.

Drying his hands, Mark glanced back to the hallway the two women had disappeared in dreaded anticipation. He felt restless just waiting here, beginning to pace to pass the time with his arms crossed over his chest. He heard a noise, and turned to find Maddy standing close.

"Sorry that took so long," she apologized, and her mother was nowhere in sight.

Mark shook his head, releasing a relieved sigh. "It was no problem," he said, wondering where exactly her mother had gone. He was expecting to be asked to leave, although Maddy seemed to have no intention of doing that herself. "I finished," he added, gesturing to the bowl since apparently there would be no reprimand.

"Shall we?" Maddy asked with a bit of a subdued smile, and he nodded slowly when he realized what she meant. He watched her as she poured the juice into the water pitcher she had filled. "Sugar?" she requested, and he finally calmed completely as he slid the bowl closer to her, the calmness in her eyes finally putting him at ease. "Want to test it for me?"

Mark narrowed his eyes at the finished product warily. He had been fine helping create it, but that didn't mean he was interested in drinking it. He would though, because she was staring up at him with a hopeful look, and he found himself nodding his head before he could stop himself.

Maddy grinned in delight, pouring him a small amount of the drink into a cup. He accepted it with resignation, swirling the muted yellow liquid around in the cup briefly as he made a face. He quickly brought it to his mouth, closing his eyes with a wince when he felt it touch his tongue. He blinked in surprise when he actually tasted it. It was… different, certainly, though he couldn't deny that it had a certain appeal.

"Huh…" he said, placing the cup down. "That was good."

Maddy giggled at him, a musical sound that made him flush. "No need to sound so shocked," she said, and to his shock she poured another swallow into the same cup, and then sipped at it curiously. She was drinking from his cup; he flushed even more, biting his lip. "We discovered lemonade. Our names will go down in history."

Mark shook his head with a low laugh. "I wonder why no one else ever thought of this…"

"Well," she frowned thoughtfully. "Not many people bother to read ancient recipes that require real harvested fruits," She shrugged slightly, wiping down the counter as they tidied up. "Some people who lived in the hyperbaric domes probably know some, because they actually have gardens, but for the rest of us…"

Mark nodded. "Do you know a lot of recipes?"

"A few," she admitted with a smile. "My mom probably does too. My dad used to surprise us with fresh fruits when he could somehow manage to get a hold of them. Mom would make whole meals using those treats, modifying old recipes with whatever we had on hand."

Mark winced slightly at the mention of her mother. He had yet to see Mrs. Shannon since they had walked off together, and Maddy had not mentioned anything, but he was still worried. He sighed as he looked away, rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous habit.

"Did I… did I get you into trouble?" he asked anxiously, and she frowned in confusion. "By being here… with you… alone…?"

"Oh," she breathed, shaking her head. "No, not at all."

Mark bit his lip unsurely. "Really?"

"Really," Maddy said firmly with a smile. "She just wanted to talk to me about… something, and asked where Zoe and my dad went. She was a bit put off to discover that he had gone shopping… like he was _supposed _to do yesterday." Her voice was tinged with fond exasperation.

"Well… good." he nodded.

"Since we're all done here," Maddy began suddenly, giving him a questioning look. "Would you like to go for a walk with me?"

Mark felt his eyes widen briefly, since usually he was the one to ask. He must have been savoring that moment for a bit longer than he realized, because she soon looked down at her feet and began to withdraw her invitation.

"If you're too busy, it's fine—"

"No!" he interrupted quickly, smiling a bit sheepishly. "No. My schedule is wide open."

Maddy smiled warmly. "Shall we, Mister Reynolds?"

"Why of course, Miss Shannon," he agreed, offering her his arm. She smiled secretly to herself as she took it, her eyes meeting his with something he couldn't discern.

This was definitely progress in his book.


	5. Glasz and Honey

**Chapter Five  
><strong>_Glasz and Honey_

Mark yawned as he stumbled toward the front door. His alarm had already gone off three times, and he had hit snooze every single time, wanting to postpone reality for the most incredibly vivid dream he had ever experienced. He was already disappointed and frustrated with his stupid alarm for waking him, because he still had a while before he really had to get moving.

Technically, volunteers for the survival class had to report in at a quarter till eight, and that was still more than an hour away. He would have been happy to stay in bed so he could stay enraptured in his dream, if not for the persistent tapping at his door. He was not happy.

The musician in him recognized the little knocks as the beat of an old song. He paused in confusion, listening for a moment before he finally opened the door. "Did you forget how to pick a lock?" he mumbled tiredly, scratching at the back of his head. His eyes went wide a moment later when he managed to see who was standing on his front porch.

Paul Haze smirked at him. "Dude, I didn't even think to do that," he said with a laugh that was way too chipper for before seven in the morning as he pushed past Mark without any preamble, striding confidently inside the house. "Thanks for the tip, Reynolds. I'll make sure to use it next time,"

Mark glanced over his shoulder, still half asleep and completely dumbfounded. "Next time?" he muttered, turning back to look at the other man standing there.

Tyler Locke waved with a smile. "Good Morning," He then moved inside with another word, giving a cursory glance around before he made his way into the kitchen.

It was too early for an ambush. Mark was completely at a loss, turning to stare at them in bewilderment. What the hell? He scratched his eyebrow in confusion, watching as they explored his cabinets, his sleep addled mind trying to make any sort of sense for the reason Tyler Locke and Paul Haze would simply waltz into his house at such an ungodly hour.

"Dude," Haze breathed out. "He has chocolate!"

Mark glared at him, hurrying forward to snatch the sacred box out of his hands before he could open it and eat one. "Back away from the chocolate," he growled at the other man. He clutched the box to him possessively, eyeing either man in case they made a move for it.

It was a stifled laughter that made him pause and examine his own reaction. He replayed his words in his head, and closed in eyes in a grimace. It was far too early for him to have to deal with these two; it was too early to deal with anyone.

"I actually said that, didn't I?"

Haze snorted. "I wasn't going to say anything," he said, his hands out in universal surrender though there was that damnable smirk still on his face. "Dude, how long have you lived in this house?"

Mark blinked rapidly. What? "… Six months?"

The other man released a slow whistled, shaking his head. "Damn, Reynolds," he said. "Spruce the place up a little. It looks like shit. Don't you own any pictures or something? Maybe we should buy you some flowers, or a can of paint. Ooh, except for that," he added, pointing to the guitar by the couch. "That is badass, man. Do you play?"

"Yes?" Mark frowned. "What are you two doing in my house…? How do you even know where I live?" He had only been here for a short time, and no one other than Alicia or Taylor ever came here. He doubted his own brother even knew where to find him now that he had moved out.

"You opened the door," Haze said slowly, as if speaking to a child. He lifted one hand, dancing his fingers across his other palm to mime someone walking. "We walked inside..."

Mark's eye twitched irritably.

"Paul," Locke said with an unimpressed raise of his eyebrow. "Behave."

"Bitch," Haze said petulantly.

Locke rolled his eyes. "You're listed in the base directory," he said a second later, addressing the previous question. "Actually, there are two M. Reynolds listed, and we weren't sure which one was actually you. So we decided to come here first—"

"After a game of eeny, meeny, miny mo," Haze interjected with a grin. "Worked out great, right? People underestimate the power of the tiger and his toe. Totally my idea."

Mark had no idea how to respond to that.

"As I was saying," Locke sighed. "We came to check on you. We saw Tim last night—"

"The guy whose head you almost took off—" Haze supplied helpfully.

"—and he said you two had cleared things up,"

Haze ignored his friends glare. "I told him you'd be fine. Ty is just a worry wart like that. Tim said you two were cool," He shrugged. "So, what's for breakfast?"

Mark slumped down onto stool. "Get out of my house."

"Aw, Ty, he doesn't like us anymore."

"Ouch, man, that hurts."

Mark rubbed his face with his hand. "Please go away?"

"Sorry, dude," Haze said, sounding _anything _but sorry. "You're stuck with us."

"Oh God, this is like Alicia all over again isn't it?" Mark realized with a groan. How was it that he attracted the crazy people who just inserted themselves into his life without his consent?

"Who the hell is Alicia?" Haze asked.

"Alicia?" Locke asked with wide eyes. "As in… Lieutenant _Alicia_ Washington?"

"Yes," Mark confirmed cautiously, not liking the way they were looking at him. He frowned at the two of them as they exchanged a look he couldn't decipher. "What?"

Haze spoke up first. "Dude… so the rumors are true?" he asked, and before Mark could ask him what rumors he was speaking of, because he had certainly never heard any rumors, the other man began gesticulating suggestively as he added, "About you and the warrior princess? You two really are…"

Mark felt sick to his stomach as he realized the implication. He groaned pitifully, covering his mouth as he tried not to picture it. "Is that what everyone thinks?" he whimpered.

"I'll take that as a no," Haze snickered.

"If you two aren't—"

Mark cut him off. "Don't you dare say it."

Locke pursed his lips, failing to hide his smile. "Then what are you?"

"Abductor and abductee?" he suggested wryly. "Health Nazi and her victim? She keeps my chocolate hostage and poisons me with vegetables. Alicia just randomly showed up the day after I beat her during combat training and invited herself for breakfast. I haven't been able to shake her since."

Not that he actually wanted to anymore, but Mark decided not to tell them that lest they get any ideas. He might have grown accustomed to Alicia but that was where this insanity ended. He had already gone over his friend quota for the year: he had Alicia and he had Maddy. Ken was ambiguous since he was his brother's best friend but that was it; these two could take a hike.

For a moment, Mark tried to stare these two aware with an intimidating glower. He crossed his arms and waited for them to make a break for it, but in hindsight, trying to be intimidating with sleepy eyes and his hair in complete disarray from his pillow did not have the same effect as it would have had if he were more awake.

"You two aren't going to leave, are you?" he asked in resignation.

"Catches on quick, doesn't he?" Haze snickered. "Call me Paul. Or Haze. I don't care which ever,"

"Tyler Locke," the other man supplied with a grin. "I usually go by Tyler or Ty."

Mark sighed. "Mark," he said, standing from the stool. He marched over to the cabinets, putting his box of chocolates back in their spot. It took him a bit of searching to find the box he wanted, and even more to find the measuring cups. He snorted when he read the note attached to the premade mix.

_Listen up soldier. Follow the instructors I wrote exactly, and you'll have some nice, fluffy pancakes to eat when I'm not there to cater for your sorry ass. And when I say 'add one cup', I do not mean the giant glasses you refer to as cups for juice and whatnot—look for the damn measuring cups above the stove. They're the ones with the little numbers on them. Got it?_

Breakfast turned out to be a disaster. He was not a good cook at all; hence the reason he liked to purchase the packaged food from the commissary. It was all made in the mess hall anyway, and pretty much every one of his comrades ate there, therefore it couldn't be quite as unhealthy as everyone thought.

Alicia made pancakes look so easy. She had even made him some with chocolate pieces before, just because she knew he liked it so much. He scraped his misshapen attempts off of the pan with a grimace, dumping the scraggly pieces on a plate as he absently listened to the chatter behind him. He had just delivered the overcooked pile of food to the table when he heard one word that woke him up completely.

"What did you just say?" he demanded with wide eyes.

"Dude, this looks…" Haze wrinkled his nose at the food.

Tyler cut in before the mess could be rightfully insulted. "How about I take over?" he asked, and Mark sat down gratefully as the other man moved toward the stove. Far be it for him to complain about not being the one to cook. He clearly had no idea what he was doing.

"And we were discussing your love life, dude,"

"About a certain _Shannon_," Tyler added with a grin. "We looked up every Shannon in the directory too, you know. Did you know there are over five different girls named Shannon on the base?"

Mark stared at them in alarm.

Paul only smirked at his misery. "Shannon Holtz is our prime suspect, considering she's the girl Tim has been dancing around for months," he said. "Shannon Carr is the blonde who works in the mess hall, but she's kind of bitchy. Shannon Peters works in agriculture, and since Ty here says you two sometimes work the orchards together, that is who I'd place money on—"

Mark groaned and buried his face into his arms as he slumped over the countertop. "This is not happening…" he muttered, trying to block out the list of _Shannons _being spoken. It did not escape him that Maddy was not once mentioned, and he figured she was not listed in the directory being that she only arrived a week ago.

It was a long time before they all eventually left his house. He and Tyler were both volunteering as escorts for the survival course, but Haze got to go home to enjoy his day off. He had to admit, they were not _that _bad. Just annoying, and talkative, and Haze was all kinds of crazy that was both disturbing and humorous at the same time.

Alicia gave him a speculative look when they arrived, her eyes drifting toward the other soldier accompanying him. He only shrugged helplessly, deciding it was all her fault. She was the one who constantly pestered him about his lack of a social life; she jinxed it. She only smirked as he and the others assembled, and gave everyone a short quiz to ensure they had all read the information she'd handed out the other day about the routes and safety precautions.

Students began to arrive as the time for departure grew nearer, and Mark turned away when the briefing was over, and his eyes automatically searched the crowd. He smiled when he saw them, standing not too far away. He saw the adorable little girl wave at him in excitement, and he quickly made his way over to them.

Kneeling down to look at Zoe directly, he tilted his head curiously. "Are you ready to see the dinosaurs again?" he asked the child, and in the corner of his eye he noticed Maddy was smiling at him.

"Yes!" Zoe nodded happily. "But only the good ones,"

"We might run into a bad one though," he cautioned. "If we do, you have to do exactly what me, or one of the other soldiers say, okay? Otherwise someone might get hurt, and we really don't want anything bad to happen to any of you."

Zoe nodded again, her face serious as she did so. He smiled at her to lighten the mood, and then finally directed his gaze up to the gorgeous brown eyes that were watching him. He swallowed slightly, taking in the sight of her. There was something affectionate in her eyes that made him feel incredible.

"Good morning, Miss Shannon," he greeted her, taking in her appropriate choice of clothing with a smug satisfaction. He had already seen some of the other girls here wearing dresses and skirts, probably as a way to catch the attention of one of his comrades.

Maddy managed to outshine them all, her hair done in a way that brought out all of her best features though would likewise be out of the way, wearing hiking boots and pants, and a thick jacket. She obviously knew that they would be doing a fair bit of walking, and that the dresses she looked so stunning in would only be a hindrance out in the wild.

"Good morning," she smiled at him, and then her eyes flashed in worry. "Are we really going to see any carnivores today?"

"Probably not," Mark assured her. "They usually avoid coming near the settlement due to our ability to blast them with sonic artillery," He tapped his own sonic rifle to draw her attention to the fact that he was armed. He would protect her. "Unless they are hunting something specific that leads them over here, only the teams who patrol the jungle or the kids who like to sneak out ever see them. It just never hurts to be careful."

As much as he was saying this for her benefit, Mark knew he was also trying to reassure himself that nothing would happen. He was a bit anxious, and he couldn't shake the dreaded anticipation he felt at the prospect of going outside. He knew that they were going into herbivore territory, but those creatures were a lot more curious than they were territorial. Sure, if a kid spooked them, it would rile up the dinosaur up, but they really never attacked even then.

The biggest danger was someone accidently getting separated from the group. For some reason, his nerves refused to let up though. Even just the thought of Maddy or Zoe going out there put him on edge.

"Alright people, listen up!" Alicia called to the gathered students, and he tuned out the long briefing she gave them about the general guidelines. He had heard it all before. He was much more interested in the ground, when he realized that he had somehow managed to catch the attention of the boy he recognized as Josh Shannon.

Mark got the distinct feeling he was being sized up. He wondered if Maddy had mentioned him, and it ticked her big brother off. Although, this wasn't the first time he had seen Josh giving him curious looks. That first day, when he had been escorting the Shannon family to their new home, he had obviously been caught staring at the young woman completely besotted.

Josh was nowhere near as scary as his father was, but just the idea of him, as someone who had influence over Maddy as her brother, was pretty intimidating. He was still a bit unsure what he thought of her brother to be honest. His initial impression was difficult to overcome, and he had very little interaction with Josh since the incident last week.

Alicia eventually led the way down the familiar path.

As the group passed through the gates, Mark could sense the air between the trainees and soldiers alike change once they were no longer safe behind the fence. For the most part, there was an equal amount of fear and curiosity from the students, while he and his comrades drew protectively around them, weapons drawn and eyes scanning the terrain.

Mark kept the two girls in his peripheral vision the entire walk. Maddy held her sister by the hand, walking side by side with her, and he tried to keep an eye on their brother as well, who was a little bit ahead of them. He was pleased to see that at least Josh was trying to keep an eye on them as well, glancing over his shoulder to check on his sisters every few minutes.

That earned him back just a hint of respect.

As they reached the tree line beyond the hills, Mark had come to realize that Maddy was a bit distracted. He thought perhaps that she was too curious with her surroundings to actually pay attention to them; however he flushed when he noticed her eyes were constantly on his own form. She did look elsewhere, just not very often.

Mark ran his tongue along his teeth and he tried not to smirk. He felt a bit smug knowing now that she was at least attracted to him. He might have flexed a few times during the walk with that knowledge, and he kept his back straight and confident, beginning to feel much better about this entire trip. He forced himself to pay attention by the time everyone came to a stop, keeping his eyes away from her so he could do his job.

Alicia began the lesson, and he listened half-heartedly as he kept an eye on the perimeter. "As you can see, I have three logs here. Can any of you tell me which of these are suitable should you need to build a fire?" she asked, looking at the group. He was probably the only one to notice her sigh when no one answered, or even offered a guess. "No one?"

Mark found his eyes seeking out the one person who probably knew. She was looking everywhere _but _the logs, her brown eyes scanning the others with an almost desperation. She did know; he could tell just by the nervous twitch in her fingers and the way her mouth formed a line as if she was purposely keeping it shut.

Maddy knew the answer… she just didn't want to say it.

Mark tried to understand why she was keeping quiet. She usually seemed to have no qualms explaining things to him, so the fact that she would rather not answer in a school setting was a bit of a strange concept. He noticed her brother, too, was giving her a strange look for not offering the answer.

After a moment of silence, Maddy glanced at him. She faltered a bit as their eyes met, and he lifted an eyebrow at her in question. She flushed irritably, crossing her arms as she exhaled while he only sent a smirk at her. He waited, keeping his eyes locked on her until her arm slowly rose.

"Yeah," Alicia said, and he could sense the curiosity in her voice. It suddenly occurred to him that this was the first time she had ever really seen the girl who had managed to capture his attention within the first second of meeting her. It was only natural for her to want to judge her herself.

Maddy barely even studied them as she moved forward, gesturing to her choice. "That one." she said simply, no doubt in her voice. His smirk grew; it was his choice as well. He stole a peek at Alicia, just to see what she thought.

Alicia was impressed, he knew, but she only asked, "Why do you think that?"

"Because it looks the most seasoned," Maddy told her, and then she pointed at the next log. "This one here still looks a bit green, and the last one is wet. It would be difficult to light because the moisture in the wood will keep putting the fire out. Even if you can get it lit, it will most likely only smolder and wouldn't produce much heat. This piece is dry, and should burn sufficiently."

Alicia met his eyes with a soft smile, nodding quickly. "Precisely," she praised, and he grinned to himself. She liked her. "For your first assignment, you will collect firewood. You now know what kind of wood to look for. Try to find the smaller pieces; twigs and small sticks, and make sure they are seasoned and dry. You have ten minutes. Get to it,"

No one ventured very far, so Mark felt confident to stay near his self-appointed big sister while everyone went in search for wood. He still kept alert, though not so much as to draw attention to himself like he'd been doing on the walk over here. He stood beside his superior, nudging her with his elbow.

"So?"

"I approve," Alicia said quietly, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. He smiled at her, and she rolled her eyes in return. "At least she wore appropriate clothing. It proves she was one of the few out of the girls that actually read the booklets I provided. Not to mention, she clearly did her research. Her deduction was well thought out, and very concise."

Mark laughed softly. "That is how she always talks," he informed her, grinning as she shot him a look of disbelief. "Seriously, she does. She talks so fast sometimes that she runs out of breath, and the first time I actually worked up the nerve to talk to her, I had spent hours researching dinosaurs to impress her—" He flushed and suddenly snapped his mouth shut as she raised an eyebrow at him.

_Oops._

Alicia snorted. "You've got it bad, kid," she said, and then smirked at him. "And I fully expect you to explain that in detail tonight at dinner, by the way," He gave her a reproachful look. "Hey, it's your fault, soldier. You mentioned it."

Damn. He knew she was right, but darn it. He had wanted to keep that little incident to himself until he was on his deathbed. He also knew there would be no denying her his utter humiliation, because she was evil like that. He huffed to himself and stepped away as the students began returning, smirking to himself when half of them were sent away to find pieces that would actually burn.

Maddy and Zoe had clearly been the only ones who knew what they were doing. It was kind of sad that a five year old was smarter than girls twice her age, although he had to admit, Zoe seemed beyond her age sometimes. For instance, she kept sending him secret smiles before looking at her sister tellingly, giggling to herself as he blushed.

Alicia gave a simple demonstration on how to build the fire safely, while a few of the others began passing out flint and pocket knives for the older students, and the younger ones were placed into groups with their siblings or at least someone older. He walked around the clearing, circling a few times as everyone got started on their own campfires.

It did not escape him that Maddy was struggling with hers. She had built it all correctly, and she had managed to get some sparks, but the angle of her knife was only managing to scrape across the flit rather than strike it. He moved closer subtly; he had been instructed to offer some advice or assistance as need, plus this gave him an excuse to get close to her.

Mark knelt down beside her, giving her time to notice his hand before he gently grasped hers to adjust the angle. She had not tensed at his intrusion as he'd been expecting her to, and instead smiled as she struck the flint once more. The results were much better, and she turned her head to offer him a grateful smile; he returned it before he reluctantly began to rise.

"Good," he told her.

It was not long before the session broke for lunch. The hours passed quickly despite just how much material everyone was actually learning. He knew Alicia would probably go over it all more thoroughly another day before the assessment, just to ensure everyone knew it all, but at least everyone seemed to be absorbing the information.

Tyler and his friend Laura Reilly distracted him briefly once they reached the settlement, and he lost track of Maddy in the crowd. He politely turned down their offer to join them for lunch, and quickly sought out the person he did want to share his lunch hour with. He finally found her standing in the shade as Zoe practically dragged their brother along behind her toward the infirmary.

Mark stifled a laugh when large, brown eyes gave him a stern look. He had a five year old trying to set him up with her sister. He knew he liked Zoe for more than just the cuteness factor—that little girl was an absolute genius in disguise. He gave her a discreet thumbs up before he made his move, smiling broadly when he came to a stop.

Maddy frowned at him. "You really need to quit doing that," she said, her voice alit with humor and exasperation. He blinked innocently at her.

"Doing what?"

"That! What you're doing right now," she laughed at him, gesturing to the smug grin. "Every time she asks a question, you just look at me like that, and it's very…" Her bottom lip was sucked between her teeth, and her cheeks turned that lovely shade of red he was so drawn to.

"Very what?" he asked curiously.

"… Distracting," Maddy said, stomping her foot a bit as he tried not to laugh. "Stop it." she demanded, and he tried to cover up his humor with a cough. She shook her head, her eyes dancing despite her riled tone. "You're impossible,"

"No," he said smugly. "I _know _you know the answers."

Maddy sighed as her arms suddenly wove around her middle, her eyes dating away from him. "That doesn't mean I have to rub it in everyone's faces," she said quietly. He stiffened at the sudden shift in her mood. He did it again. Somehow he had upset her.

Mark swallowed uncertainly, reaching to grasp her shoulders gently. She slowly looked up at him, the frown on her face making his heart ache for her. "Hey," he shook his head. "Maddy, that is _not _what you do at all." He didn't understand how she could even think that.

Maddy averted her eyes once more. "People don't like it when I know the answers," she told him, and he had a feeling she was speaking from past experiences. She looked haunted, her eyes sad as she whispered, "I want things to be different here."

"By _hiding _who you are?" he demanded, furious that someone had ever made her feel like she had to change anything that made who she was. "Screw them, and screw what they think. Whatever you had to go through _there_ shouldn't make you change who you are here. You shouldn't try to please anyone but yourself. You're—" Perfect.

"—A know it all." she interrupted.

Mark felt as if someone had just clenched his heart through a vice. Is that really what she thought about herself? She was smart, so incredibly smart. She saw things in the world that he had never even noticed before, and she opened his mind to them with a breathless explanation that left him wanting more and more. If only he could make her see that.

"Don't say that," he said. "Do you think you know everything?"

"Of course not," Maddy scoffed a bit. "No one really knows _everything_. It's impossible. There is just too much information for any one person to really know everything there is to know about the world. And anyone who thinks otherwise is seriously arrogant or just delusional."

"Exactly," Mark nodded seriously, because she had just proved his point. "You're smart, and you don't rub it in anyone's face. You just…" He searched for the right words, wanting to somehow make this right. "You see things differently than everyone else, and you express that with the knowledge you've acquired." He smiled gently. "It is one of the things unique about you."

Maddy was silent for a moment, her eyes glazed over with an emotion that he couldn't quite place, although she did draw in a shuddering breath. She swallowed, and suddenly took a step closer to her, her arms winding around his waist. He drew in a sharp breath of his own, trying to process the fact that she was in his arms of her own violation for once.

Once he regained control of his own body, Mark enveloped her in his arms. He would not waist this moment, instantly curling one arm around her back while the other went to the back of her head. He held her to him, savoring this chance to keep her within the safety of his own arms. She trembled, the small quiver of vulnerability spurring him to guide them out of sight so they could have some privacy.

Maddy clutched him tighter. He tried to comfort her by gently caressing her back, and his other hand gave an involuntary spasm when he felt her breath against his neck. "They… _hated me…_" she spoke, her voice barely above the sound of a breath. "I… I was always the youngest… in all of my classes. They were always so _mean_,"

Mark closed his eyes as her voice trembled with emotion. He tightened his grip on her, and she collapsed against him completely. He nearly missed what she said next, her voice somehow even lower than before, but when the words registered stilled with a shooting pain in his heart.

"Why are people always so mean?"

_Oh, Maddy…_

"I never did anything," she continued absently, and Mark listened carefully to every word. "I No one should ever have to feel like that. Hate like that… what did I do? No one can hate someone so much for nothing. I must have done something…"

_No. No, Maddy, you're perfect._

"The taunts were bad, so bad… but the threats and the suggestions," He could feel hot tears press fall against his chest at her words, warring with himself not to cry on her behalf. "It hurt so much. I just wanted to be left alone… they wouldn't even let me walk through the cafeteria without pushing me so that I would fall and…"

Mark was alarmed when her hand rose of its own accord, her fingers pushing at her temple. He felt his stomach drop when he realized what must have been hidden beneath her hair. He had seen the photograph in her profile; the bandage right where she was touching. He clenched his jaw as the anger ignited in his veins.

Every word she said only made Mark wish there was a way for the portal to open on this side as well, so he could go through and destroy everyone who had ever hurt her. He had known someone hurt her. He had felt it ever since he had first looked into that desolate photograph and tried to liken her at all to the young woman in his arms. He just couldn't understand why anyone would hurt her, why anyone would treat her like that.

"It needs to be different here," Her voice sounded like a plea. "It _has _to be."

No one would ever treat her like that again. He would decimate anyone who tried. He wanted to shield her from the world.

Mark swallowed. He could barely breathe; he was so angry. He thought he knew what anger was before. He had been furious with Tim Curran the other day, and he had never felt that way in his life, but this… this transcended even that. He tried to keep his mind clear, taking in deep, ragged breaths as he attempted to keep himself calm.

The last thing he wanted to do was scare her with his anger.

It took him several minutes of just inhaling the herbal scent emanating from her hair before he was able to speak without projecting just how furious he was. He pressed his lips to the top of her head, and tried to calm her down as well. She was crying against him; her tears were his first priority. He knew he could protect her physically, but right now she needed him to protect her heart.

"It will be different, Maddy," he promised quietly, wanting to assure her. "It will be. No one will treat you like that here, because I won't let that happen. I'm never going to let that happen." He continued to speak to her gently, trying to lend her the strength she needed.

Maddy finally began breathing, her weeping slowing until it finally stopped all together. She tried to gather herself, her hands flattening on his back as opposed to the iron grip she'd had. He almost refused to let her pull away from him when she tried. He needed her to stay there, otherwise he felt like she might disappear altogether. Her head did pull away despite his efforts, and she peered up at him with bloodshot eyes that were glassy, her eyelashes wet from her tears.

_You're even beautiful when you cry._

Mark allowed her time to gather her thoughts, watching the each emotion that crossed her face. He inhaled deeply as her arms unconsciously grazed his sides as she pulled her arms back more, the palms of her hands resting on his hips as she gazed up at him. He would have liked to stay just like that; however he could sense the hesitation in her.

Maddy was unsure what to do next.

Mark reluctantly released her from the safety of his arms, and stared deeply into her eyes. He never once looked away as he removed his gloves, and then he gently cupped her wet cheeks. Her eyes fluttered as he carefully wiped the tears away. He was stuck by how she looked in that moment, staring up at him with uncertainty and need.

"You know," Maddy said suddenly, biting down on her lip for a brief moment before she began speaking. "Color variations among different irises are typically attributed to the melanin content within the iris stroma, the pigment epithelium, and the density of cells within the stroma affect how much light is absorbed by the underlying pigment,"

Maddy peered up at him hesitantly, her voice waving for a second. He understood her apprehension. She had an amazing capability to combine facts with what she was trying to say; to fill a void that no one else knows is present. She had been hurt because of it, by extraordinarily ordinary people who treated her poorly because they couldn't face the truth about themselves. It was how she thought, her incredible mind using words and information to calm herself, and him, down.

Mark thought it was beautiful.

"For a long time," she eventually continued, all of the tension draining out of her body with each word she spoke. "I was having difficulty figuring out exactly what pigment your eyes were. Sometimes they were blue, other times almost jade, and right now… they are dark gray with just a gink of both." She stared at his eyes as if they were the most fascinating sight she had ever seen. "So I researched it, and discovered there is an actual word for it. A French word for eyes that are gray, green and blue combined."

Mark caressed her cheek, waiting calmly for her to finish.

"Glasz," Maddy said with a wavering smile. "Not just gray. Not just blue. Not just green. Your eyes are glasz. It is described as a light mixed and beautiful color…"

Mark studied her for a moment, trying to think of how he could respond to something that made his entire mind go completely blank. She stole his every word. He had thought of so many ways to describe her in his head over the past week, he had even composed a song to embody her, yet right now he could not think of a single one.

"Your eyes are brown," he told her, knowing that it was probably inadequate compared to everything she had just said about his own. She only exhaled in relief at his words, seemingly at peace with the simplicity of them. "But when the sun hits them just right, it is almost like they are made of amber." He recalled, and suddenly everything just fell into place. "And when you're explaining the way the sunlight helps create photosynthesis in plants, if I look really closely at the iris, I can see a hint of green. And when you look at _me_… your eyes look like liquid honey…"

Mark slowly caressed her skin with his thumb, trying to be as gentle with her as possible. He heard her breath catch and continued quietly.

"That's my favorite," he confessed with a smile, and then he tilted his head just a bit so he could brush her forehead with his lips. He pulled away with great reluctance, though he needed to see her reaction. She stared up at him with something akin to awe.

Maddy was silent for a long time, and though he had trouble trying to decipher the emotions flashing over her features, all he could see was the fondness she always gazed at him with melt away into something else entirely. He was not sure he could name the emotion, though it was powerful and it rendered him speechless until the moment she released a soft laugh.

Mark watched as all traces of sadness disappeared, her face clearing as she presented him with the most breathtaking smile he had ever seen. She embraced him again, clutching him to her own body with something other than desperation this time. Her voice was quiet, possessing that ever present quality that he loved to hear.

"We should probably go get lunch before we run out of time," she said to him, and he tried to assess the situation. She seemed blissfully happy, a complete contrast to five minutes ago, and he wondered what had changed so much between now and then. She must have had some kind of revelation that he was not privy to.

Mark smiled in return, deciding not to push the issue. "You can eat real food now, right? How about I buy you lunch, Miss Shannon? Anything you want to try, we can get it."

"Even if it's not packaged foods, Mister Reynolds?" Maddy asked playfully, her eyes lit up with mirth and something else that made her almost glow even in the shade. "Even if it is green and leafy and some kind of vegetable?"

"_Anything _you want."

* * *

><p>I have been making some cover art for Wonderstruck. If anyone wants to see it, just look me up on LiveJournal under lynxlarabellows. They are located under the master list of Terra Nova stories :) Also, some people have been asking me permission to use elements of my story in their own writing. Feel free to use anything you like, but please credit back on major things such as characters or events.<p>

I hope everyone has a great Valentines Day :D


	6. Big Brother

**Chapter Six**  
><em>Big Brother<em>

Mark found the box sitting on his doorstep at four in the morning. He had heard the soft knock, barely even audible, but the perpetrator had been gone by the time he had stumbled out of bed and opened the door. He had recognized the handwriting on the side of the box immediately; it made no difference that Michael had mysteriously vanished after delivering it.

_I'm sorry._

Mark had stared at it for three hours without even going near it. He had no idea what was inside, unable to work up the nerve to actually open it. Was it some sort of apology gift? He doubted it, even though there was a pathetic two word apology written down. He honestly had no idea what it could be, but in the end, his irritation at his brother's cowardice outweighed any curiosity he might have felt at what the contents might be.

Leaving the box abandoned on the kitchen counter, Mark showered and dressed in preparation for survival training today. He tried to keep his mind clear because he was beginning to think he needed anger management classes every time he even thought of Michael anymore. He played his guitar for the last hour, absently plucking a tune as he waited for his shift to begin.

A quarter till eight could not come more quickly.

Mark doubted that anyone else was even half as anxious for class to begin as he was. He had a valid reason though; he needed to see Maddy. He knew that just being around her for a few seconds would leech away any anger or somberness in his mood. He might have arrived a bit too early in hopes of seeing her, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for everyone else to arrive.

Alicia smirked at him when she spotted him, and he rolled his eyes at her in return. She strolled over to him, quirking one eyebrow as she studied his anxious posture. "Hey soldier," she said in greeting. "Did you have a good cold shower this morning? Hopefully it was… _invigorating _because we need you to have a clear head for today."

Mark grimaced at her words, scowling at the mirth in her eyes. "You're evil," he said spitefully, crossing his arms when she only laughed at him. He turned away from her, instead searching the crowd as people slowly began to arrive.

Alicia clapped him on the shoulder. "You should loosen up, kid. Or someone might realize just how frustrated you are," she said with false sympathy, and he groaned and hid his face as she chuckled.

"You're a horrible person,"

"I know," Alicia said easily. She sighed a moment later, frowning at him. "Okay, spill. What's wrong? You have that look,"

"What look?"

Alicia lifted an eyebrow. "That horrendous brooding B.M. look you wore for six months."

Mark blinked at her. "… Brooding B. M. look? What does that even mean?"

"Before Maddy," she clarified her shark-like grin returning as he flushed appropriately. "Out with it kid, I don't have all day,"

"… Michael."

Alicia sighed heavily. "What did he do?"

"More like what he won't do," Mark muttered darkly. "He won't talk to me. In fact, he is avoiding me completely. He left something at my house at four in the morning and disappeared before I even reached the door."

"Maybe you should confront him," she said cautiously.

"Because that worked out so well last time," he scoffed, wincing at the reproachful look he received in return. "I know, I know—lose the attitude." He ran a hand through his hair. "I haven't even seen him since the first day he arrived. He's like a ghost. How exactly am I supposed to confront a ghost?"

Alicia squeezed his shoulder. "I could have him thrown in the brig," she offered, and he gave her a considering look, before deciding that she was only joking. Damn… he actually liked that plan. "Go to his house. Call him out." She let him mull over that for a moment before nudging him. "I know something that will make you feel better,"

"Chocolate?" he asked hopefully.

Alicia grinned indulgently. "Better,"

"What could be better than chocolate?"

Mark followed her line of sight. "Okay," he conceded, staring contently as he caught sight of the young woman approaching the gate. "Much better than chocolate,"

Maddy was dressed similarly today as she was the previous day, practical and efficient clothing with her hair pulled back, yet he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. She was standing side by side with her siblings as they came to a stop, and she glanced around searchingly. Her eyes came to rest on him, and he swallowed when a bright smile lit her features.

Mark waved slightly, smiling back at her.

Alicia met his dopey grin with a knowing smile of her own a few minutes later. "Come on, lover boy," she said permissively, though gave him a stern look. "Just remember you're on protection detail. Try not to get distracted—I'd really hate to have to find a new volunteer."

Despite the warning, Mark was having a bit of trouble keeping his eyes off of a certain brunette today. He was trying to distance himself as much as possible, but he had an odd feeling that something had changed between them without him realizing it. He had noticed it yesterday during lunch after her confession, but had attributed it to the topic of discussion.

It was like some kind of charged energy was resonating between them now.

It was a subtle difference; nothing intense, but instead almost… soothing. He had already given up on deciphering what it was that had changed; too lost in the bewitching smiles Maddy bestowed upon him at random intervals. He never would have guessed that only yesterday she had been crying in his arms; today she was positively glowing with excitement and joy.

Unfortunately everything about Maddy was driving him to distraction. He constantly had to remind himself that he needed to pay attention to his surroundings; not his… not Maddy. His mind drifted almost as often as his eyes did; his thoughts lingered on her despite his best efforts. His toes had been trodden on by Alicia several times in an attempt to keep him focused.

Alicia was definitely taking way too much enjoyment in watching him squirm. She had made well on her word last night, showing up to cook him dinner; he'd been forced to endure hours of relentless questions as she grilled him mercilessly for every detail. She had known quite a bit just from her own observations and from some of the comments he made, but she wanted him to fill in some of the blanks.

Mark had been careful with his answers. He tried his best to appease her demands while avoiding any mention of anything Maddy had told him in confidence. He refused to betray the trust Maddy had placed in him, and had successfully steered the conversation last night away from some of the more sensitive issues. He felt that some of the more private matters should stay between him and Maddy.

As an avoidance tactic to distract Alicia from any sudden shifts in the conversation, Mark had offered himself up for the proverbial chopping block. He gave her every humiliating detail about the brachiosaurus blunder; how he had spent hours researching everything there was to know about the dinosaur in vain, because Maddy already knew everything there was to know about all dinosaurs.

Mark left nothing out; not the lemonade incident the other day or even the enticing dream from yesterday morning… which had been cut way too short for his liking. She had taken particular delight in that one. His resistance to certain topics worked perhaps a bit too well, because now he had to endure Alicia smirking at him knowingly every time his eyes strayed.

At least she was subtle about it, though… while they were in public.

Alicia was currently walking slowly in front of the assembled teenagers as she spoke through her lesson. "If you were lost in the jungle, and you had to find your way out. Which way is north?" she asked, allowing the question to hang in the air, her eyes following his own line of sight toward the only student who seemed to know any answers.

Maddy was just standing there in silence with the rest of her class. She obviously knew the answer; her eyes gave her away, darting first towards the trees and then toward the sky before settling glancing in the correct direction. She had found it within a split second, her mind moving much quicker than even his to determine north.

Had he not been observing her so intently, Mark probably would have missed it. He had intended to leave her be after her confession yesterday, because she had some truly horrific experiences with these scenarios and he never wanted to push her to do something she didn't want to do. But he genuinely believed that she could overcome this fear she had of her classmates and come out stronger for it.

Therefore when honey brown eyes momentarily gazed at him, Mark gave her the same look that had irritated her so much the day before. She pressed her lips together, fighting a smile at his persistence, and he drew in a breath. "Lieutenant Washington asked a question," he said calmly, raising his eyebrows at her in provocation as he simply waited for her to answer.

Maddy rolled her eyes at him with amused indulgence, slowly raising her hand. She pointed north immediately after she was called upon, not even bothering to glance around to double check. "That way," she said easily, her voice confident.

Mark smiled subtly at her.

"And you know this how?" Alicia questioned.

Maddy gestured toward a tree to her right. "The moss on that tree," she said. "However sometimes using moss may not be entirely accurate; therefore I also used the position of the sun. East is that way, because that is where the sun rose. Following the trajectory determines that the opposite of it is west, which means that north is in between the two."

Alicia nodded, obviously pleased with the thorough deduction. "What about at night?" she asked her, and Mark felt the smile spread across his face involuntarily. He might not have told Alicia everything, but leave it to her to apply what he said about that night under the stars to the lesson. "What would you do when there is no sun, and you cannot rely on tree moss due to the inaccuracy?"

"Navigate by the stars," Maddy said, and her eyes slid to him with a hint of suspicion. He did his best to look innocent, although he couldn't quite manage to suppress his grin entirely. "The main constellations to locate would be Ursa Major and Cassiopeia, because directly in between them is Polaris—the Northern Star. None of the constellations set, and they are always visible even if their positions are a few degrees different here."

Alicia smiled at her with a nod of her head. "Gold star, Shannon,"

Mark ran his tongue over the front of his teeth in an effort not to appear too smug. He was glad that Alicia verbally offered praise, because he could see that it helped abolish some lingering reservations Maddy had about speaking up.

Hopefully it had given her a small boost of confidence, because she certainly deserved it. He even saw a few of the others around her giving her apprising looks rather than hostile ones, and he was pleased to see that not everyone was like those teenagers from her old school. God help anyone who was, because he would probably dismember them. Not to mention what Alicia would do to them—not just for acting out in her class, but because she knew what Maddy meant to him.

It would not be pretty.

Lunchtime approached quickly, and he was amused when some of the younger children whined when they had to return to the settlement. Apparently they were all having too much fun making compasses and exploring the jungle. He understood their disappointment all too well; despite the dangers of being outside the gate, it truly was a magnificent place to be.

Mark was all too pleased when the youngest once they reached the colony though, happy to leave the outside world behind in order to spend the hour alone with Maddy. He slipped his hand into hers once Zoe had once again dragged her brother off in some random direction. He was really glad that Zoe was on his side; that pout of hers was a dangerous weapon.

"So, Miss Shannon," he said as he lead her toward the market. "What would you like for lunch?"

Maddy gave him an exasperated look. "Mark," she sighed with a reluctant smile, and reminded him, "You bought lunch yesterday,"

Mark only smiled mischievously, and refused to respond to that. He wanted to lavish her with anything he could, and since their mutual lunch hour was the most time they got to spend together during the day, then his only option was to treat her out to lunch. She finally compromised that he would choose the meal today, since he had insisted that she choose yesterday.

There were not many locations for privacy on base; therefore Mark was glad that the observation tower that he had come to associate as _theirs _was so secluded and vacant during this time of year. They sat on the wooden deck, talking quietly to each other as they shared a plate of simple sandwiches and assorted fruits he thought she might like.

Mark was aware that he probably had a dopey smile on his face as he listened to the sound of her voice; trying to absorb every detail of her life she was willing to offer him. He had trouble remembering some of the more obscure names or words she spoke of, and tried to file them away for later tonight when he could look them up in the dictionary he purchased for this very reason.

Maddy did make a few inquiries about his own life, although what little there was to tell was not the best topic so he avoided it as best as he could. He was nowhere near as interesting as she was. He could summarize his life before she came into with just a few words; vacant, repetitive… lonely.

Alicia had definitely helped a lot when she wormed her way into his life. She had become someone very important to him over the past few months, and he honestly had no idea what he would have done without her as a permanent fixture. But everything just came so easily with Maddy.

All too soon the lunch hour was over.

Mark held her hand as he lead the way back to the gate where the others were all starting to assemble, reluctantly parting with her to join the rest of his group. He was joined by Tyler a few moments later, and his friend Laura Reilly; he idly listened to them chat while he glanced over to where Maddy was joined by her siblings.

Maddy had her eyes closed for some reason, a peaceful smile on her face. She looked happy and calm and he wondered what was going through her mind. Although it quickly disappeared and her eyes snapped open when her brother said something to her. Josh had his arms crossed and a scowl on his face as they spoke.

Joshua Shannon was a lot more astute than people gave him credit for. He did seem to lack the subtlety to be discreet though. His shifty eyes lingered on Mark with an oddly calculating gleam as they walked through the grasslands back toward the training ground. He was conspicuous and judging as he glared, not even bothering to hide the fact that he was sizing the soldier up.

Mark could only imagine what the boy was saying to her throughout the entire journey. It made him nervous. He had done nothing to earn approval from her big brother. He had never even spoken to him, discounting the time he escorted them to their house. Her brother knew nothing about him, other than the fact that he kept staring at Maddy like she was the only person his eyes could see.

… Like right now.

Josh met his eyes with a fiercely protective scowl, and he had to look away. He inwardly sighed; his fear of Mr. Shannon was understandable. The man was bigger than him, older than him, probably smarter than him, carried a weapon and had the authority as a father to keep him from even going near Maddy if he wanted to. Not to mention he was kind of scary of his own merit.

Therefore it made absolutely no sense why Mark was so wary of Josh. The kid was scrawny compared to him. He was shorter, perhaps a bit gullible, and he sort of reminded Mark of a puppy. Josh had been sending those big brother vibes since the moment they first met, and despite the fact that the kid had lost a lot of respect when he jumped fence, Mark still felt uneasy around him.

"Alright people," Alicia said once they reached the clearing. "Yesterday you learned about how to survive off of the vegetation. However the fruits and vegetables provided by the forest can only get you so far before you become malnourished."

Mark listened absently as she revealed the nest of mealworms, explaining what they were and how they provided nutrients. He had heard it all a thousand times before. He didn't particularly care for beetle grubs himself, and only grinned when he noticed the looks of disgust Alicia was receiving. He walked slowly through the clearing, circling close to the group as he adjusted his hold on his sonic gun.

Zoe wrinkled her nose once the commentary was over. "Ew,"

Alicia looked at the little girl, her eyebrows eye. "Ew?" she repeated. "You find yourself low on provisions and starving, you won't be saying '_ew,_" She plucked a beetle from the tree, lifting it close to her mouth as she finished. "You'll be saying…" She dropped in in her mouth, chewing it very slowly as if giving it a very considering taste.

Mark grimaced, shaking his head in amusement as he scanned the perimeter. He had eaten them before, of course—he had Guzman for this particular lesson, unfortunately, and hadn't that been a pleasant afternoon kneeling to the porcelain god—and while they weren't bad once you got over the _crunch_ and the _wriggling _and the general _ick _factor, it was not his idea of fine dining either.

"Mm-mm," Alicia finished a satisfied smirk on her face as she surveyed the severely disturbed children.

Alicia clearly took a lot of enjoyment out of scaring small children—he would bet anything that a child between her and Taylor would be tough as nails. It would probably come out with blue eyes, and a black mohawk; somehow imbued with an instinctual knowledge of all weaponry known to man. Mark would not be changing any diapers for that hellion.

"Your assignment for right now is to locate a tree on your own that is infested with beetle grubs," Alicia informed the group. "Get to it,"

Everyone began to spread out, although they were all still securely within the perimeter. Mark noticed Alicia giving him the hairy eyeball when he opted to stay close to the Shannon family. She only shook her head in amusement though instead of calling him on it. He was still doing his job, after all, so it wasn't as if he was breaking any rules.

"Gross," poor little Zoe whimpered, burying her face into her brother's shoulder. "Do we have to eat them too?"

"God I hope not." Josh said with a visible shudder. "That woman is not sane. Why would anyone want to eat bugs?"

Mark only smirked as he trailed a good distance away, keeping his eyes out to the trees.

"Actually," Maddy spoke up, drawing in a short breath for a long explanation that made him grin because, honestly, she would never cease to amaze him with how much she knew. "Entomophagy was still a modern practice throughout cultures all around the world before most of the insects died out from lack of plant life to sustain them. Before humans hunted or farmed, insects were quite important to our diet, because they are a good source of not only protein, but vitamins, fats and minerals."

"… There's an actual word for it?" her brother asked in revulsion. "How do you even _know _that?"

Mark actually had to strain to hear what she said next, her voice quite a bit lower than before. "I may have accidently, somehow, possibly…" Maddy said slowly, the nervous pang in her voice causing him to turn his head, watching as she twisted her fingers. "Hacked into Commander Taylor's personal archives last night from my plex,"

For a moment, there was silence.

"Of course you did." Josh said; his voice exasperated.

It took everything Mark had not to laugh out loud. He covered his mouth with his free hand, snickering quietly to himself despite his best efforts, because Maddy was just awesome… and kind of dangerous. He stopped laughing at once, his eyes growing wide as he realized that if she could hack into Taylor's files, she could probably break into his too.

"He has _hundreds _of digital books on survival and world cultures that date all the way back to the fifteen hundreds," Maddy continued on with enthusiasm, completely unaware of the turmoil she just unintentionally put him in. "And did you know that unintentional ingestion of bugs actually occurs all of the time, especially here? Even from just something like the flour we used to make pancakes yesterday morning,"

Mark was very aware that almost every new file on his own datapad held some reference to Maddy herself, even though only about half of them actually outright stated her name. He swallowed thickly; suddenly nervous of what she could find if she ever decided to browse. He tried to calculate just how many songs and journal entries he had written about her and inwardly groaned at the number.

"We don't like you right now," Josh said after a small pause, a disgusted convulsion rippling through his body. "So we're going to go find our own tree, right Zo?"

In his arms the little girl mirrored his action and gave her eyes a disgusted look as they began to walk away. Maddy only watched them go fondly before she slowly moved deeper into the woods to look for a tree of her own, studying the bark of each one critically.

Mark inwardly debated with himself for just a moment before he hurried to catch up to her. She had broken away from the majority of the group in her search, and while he knew he was probably going to get an earful from Alicia later, he wasn't about to let her wonder off on her own.

"Your brother should be grateful," he said as he reached her side. She looked at him quickly, a brief look of sheepishness crossing her features as she realized he had heard at least part of their conversation. "If Lieutenant Guzman was teaching this course, all of you would have gone through this particular lesson yesterday,"

Maddy frowned curiously. "What is so bad about that?"

Mark could only guess that she had not actually met Lieutenant Guzman. "Just think about it," He smiled slowly, deciding to give her a clear picture. "It's a week after you all arrive; everyone probably had a really big breakfast, trying out as many foods as possible all day since they are finally allowed to eat real food…" He paused, allowing her to soak in the scenario. "And he makes you all _eat _at least three of those beetles after finding them."

Maddy blanched at the thought, her face turning slightly pale. "Seriously?" she asked, her eyes widening with anxiousness. "We won't have to do that today, right?" She shifted restlessly as he kept silent for a moment, enjoying the way she twitched nervously.

Mark broke before he let it go on too much. "No," he assured her with a smile. He really did enjoy teasing her, but freaking her out was not his intention. She sighed almost imperceptivity, her shoulder knocking into his as she resumed her search. He grinned in response, pleased with her reaction. "Alicia is much nicer than that."

It took him a moment to realize that Maddy had tensed beside him, and he glanced away from the dense tree trunks he was studying to find a frown on her face. She bit her lip uncertainly. "Alicia?" she asked, and he paused when he registered the tone of her voice. She kept her head forward, refusing to look in his direction at all.

Mark tried to recall if he had ever even mentioned his association with Alicia before during one of their talks. Had he…? He could see the insecurity in her eyes, and instantly knew his answer. No. Mark had never said anything about Alicia before even if Alicia knew all about her. He inwardly berated himself, despite the inexplicable jolt of happiness he felt at her reaction.

The fact that Maddy was uneasy about him mentioning another woman should not make him so pleased. It really shouldn't… but it did. He tried to stave the feeling down. "Lieutenant Washington," Mark told her steadily, turning to gesture at the woman in the distance who was currently on the prowl for trouble makers. "She was the reason…" He cut himself off abruptly as he noticed a small movement ahead.

Mark tensed immediately, narrowing his eyes toward the moving shrubs. He shot a quick glance back toward the clearing, a sudden sense of dread filling the pit of his stomach when he realized he had let them wonder quite a bit away from the rest of the group.

"What?" Maddy asked him quietly, and he quickly shook his head as he readied his weapon. He kept his eyes ahead, ruthlessly pushing down the instinctual panic he felt that Maddy was beside him while there was something unknown lurking nearby. He needed to keep his head clear on the off chance that this was not just some other kid who had ventured too far or even perhaps a curious herbivore creature.

The bushes rustled again, and Mark frowned when the small creature peeked out. He fingered the trigger on his gun as he studied it. He was familiar with most of the known dinosaurs here, but honestly, he had no idea what this was. He best guess would have been some kind of baby pterodactyl, but the coloring was all wrong and the wingspan and beak were different.

Mark was just about to suggest to go back—slowly, as not to startle the creature—but before he could even take a breath, the small head turned, dark eyes staring at the young woman beside him. Maddy drew a breath in of her own, her eyes widening as the beak clacked together sharply, and then the creature emerged from the bushes swiftly.

It dove toward them through the air, talons outstretched.

Mark reacted without thinking; he locked his arms around Maddy as he tackled her to the ground, shielding her with his body as best as he could. He felt a rush of air over the back of his neck as a loud screech echoed around them, but he could hear nothing beyond the blood rushing through his ears as he hovered above her.

Maddy trembled beneath him, her mouth slightly open with shock and her eyes widened with fear. He could feel his heart waging a war against his ribcage, frantically beating as he tried not to think about what could have happened. He replayed it in his mind, a sharp pang of fear shooting through him.

That thing had been going for her face. He had never seen any flying creature attack like that; usually they just circled above and trilled passively. That was not a baby pterodactyl.

Mark swallowed several times as his arms gave a shudder. He closed his eyes briefly, blinking rapidly as he tried to regain control of his own breathing. He needed to be calm; his chest heaved with effort. He studied Maddy carefully, looking for any sign of an injury. Her face was a bit pale, but there was no sight of scratches, and she seemed relatively okay despite his how quickly he'd rushed at her.

"Are you hurt?" Mark asked her worriedly.

Maddy seemed relatively calm, but her voice shook with frightened nerves. "No," she said, and he exhaled heavily, lowering his head in relief. She was okay.

Mark tried to keep that in mind, attempting to reassure himself. He tensed minutely when he took in their positions, and quickly pulled off of her. He could not find it in him to even blush at what it must have looked like with him laying on top of her, still too shaken to make light of it. He should have reacted more quickly too, because what if that thing had come back around while they were on the ground? He shook his head, his jaw clenched as he rose to his feet.

Maddy accepted his hand when he offered, and he refused to release her once he had pulled her up, instead curling his hand around hers tighter. "What was that?" she asked quietly, unconsciously shuffling closer to him as she peered around.

"Not sure." Mark said, shaking his head. He squeezed her hand reassuringly before releasing it, turning the safety off on his gun swiftly as he scanned the canopy of the trees. He placed the hand against her back, urging her forward as he led the way back to the clearing. "Just… stay close,"

Alicia was still roaming the clearing when they arrived, none the wiser that anything out of the ordinary had happened. He could simply chalk this all up to a singular incident, and neither of them had been hurt, but he still needed to report it to his superior. He spied Tyler close by, along with several other well-armed soldiers, and allowed himself to relax slightly as he finally stepped away from Maddy.

"Stay close to your brother and Zoe," he instructed, gesturing to where he could see them picking at tree bark. "I better go tell Alicia what happened." She nodded slowly, and he smiled reassuringly at her, hoping to quell what lingering fears she might have. He took a small step forward, brushing his lips against her smooth forehead; reveling in the feeling of her allowing him to do so.

Mark pulled away reluctantly, smiling gently when he noticed her eyes were closed. As much as he would have rather stayed by her side, especially like this, Mark was still on duty and much too aware that they were outside of the gates now. He quickly made his way toward the lieutenant, pausing only once to make sure Maddy reached her brother and sister.

Alicia needed to be informed of the attack, even if this was just an isolated incident.


	7. Hiccups

**Chapter Seven**  
><em>Hiccups<em>

It was already late into the evening when Mark was finally done with his shift. He was already beginning to feel exhausted after just a few days of this. He could not bring himself to regret volunteering for escort duty though, no matter just how long it made his days since he still had to cover a four hour shift up in a tower after survival training ended.

Today had been exceptionally long however; he was still a bit irritated from his argument with Alicia during breakfast, although he understood why she had interfered. It had been decidedly painful to be so far away from Maddy while outside of the gates, especially considering the fact that they were studying dinosaurs today.

On the settlement the gate and fence mounted with sonic weapons offered a sense of protection and peace to his mind, but out here in open could be a dangerous place. No amount of trying to reason with his own nerves had stayed his unease, especially not with the attack from the winged creature from yesterday still prevalent in his head.

Mark had known that this was bound to happen eventually. His inability to concentrate and his inattention to his surroundings, which possibly led to the attack yesterday, had probably been the deciding factor. But he honestly never thought that Alicia would separate them.

It had felt a bit like betrayal when Alicia discussed it this morning; she had assigned him to a different group today. He had been forced to join a bunch of whiny teenagers, who had absolutely no idea what they were doing, while Maddy stayed with a group of students and soldiers he barely knew or trusted around her.

Mark did understand _why _Alicia had done it. No matter what their relationship was, she took her responsibilities very seriously. She might have given him some leeway on a few things in the past, but she had the wellbeing of everyone to consider. He understood that; honestly, he did.

Had he been in a similar position as her, Mark imagined he would do the same exact thing. He was twitterpated to the point of distraction; it was affecting his work performance. The only logical way to ensure he could still volunteer for escort duty was to reassign him so he could focus less on the person who was distracting him.

So it was perfectly understandable and even expected to be separated from Maddy. But that didn't mean he hadn't glared petulantly at Alicia when she made good on her word and divided everyone into groups. She had remained completely unmoved by his frustration; standing by her decision.

Today the lesson had been tracking a herd of dinosaurs. Every student had been divided into one of the five groups after the lecture and demonstration, and then their escorts took them out a ways so they could find a trail to track where the herbivores were grazing. It was simple, especially since the dinosaurs they were tracking were triceratops.

Unfortunately the journey to find them was very, very slow. He had been quite agitated after being forced to endure an agonizingly long debate on which way the group should go. His anxiousness mainly stemmed from the way his mind had constantly conjured up images of what could have been happening elsewhere while he was listening to a bunch of squabbling brats.

It had taken a long time for his group to arrive at their destination, though not without some thinly veiled hints and some hand holding from Mark and some of the others. It was a bit ridiculous actually; tracking a herd of triceratops should have been easy because they were enormous. They had a tendency to knock down everything in their path and trample everything else. His group had been the last to arrive.

Maddy had already been there of course; he imagined her group had been the first to arrive if they let her decide which way to go. She had calmed his every nerve the moment he saw her standing there, completely unharmed among her group. She had returned his subtle smile with a brilliant red hue to her cheeks and it was the calmest he had been all day other than their lunch hour.

Unfortunately that had been hours ago.

Mark had a destination in mind the moment his shift ended. Two of them in fact: first he needed to stop by his own house to clean up a bit, well aware that his twelve hour work day had taken its toll after eight of which had been spent hiking through the jungle. Then he planned to head over to the Shannon house because his time with Maddy today had been all of one hour, which was unacceptable.

It was almost as if he couldn't go more than a few hours without needing to see her now. He was actually beginning to feel a bit like an addict when it came to being around her.

Mark showered and changed within the span of ten minutes. He was planning on heading straight to her house, wondering how it looked because she had mentioned during lunch that her parents had planned to finish the outside today. He was halfway there when he was intercepted by a heavy arm settling over his shoulders, and he almost tripped with the unexpectedness of it.

"What's up, buttercup!" Paul said brightly. He was practically leaning all of his considerable weight onto the slightly smaller man as he strolled beside him.

Mark tried shrugging him off, but it was like the arm was made of meteoric iron. "What do you want, Paul?" he sighed, irritation clear in his voice.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're really antisocial?" Paul asked, apparently unphased by the sour tone. "Seriously, dude, what's up with that?"

"Had anyone ever told you that you're really annoying?" Mark countered irately, finally managing to dislodge the arm weighing him down. He felt a flash of regret for being so spiteful; that had not been his intention. He turned quickly, hoping to apologize, but he was stunned when Paul only laughed heartily in return.

"Ty reminds me at least once a day," he grinned, completely unabashed. He shrugged. "Although, he has an excuse, because I put superglue on his toilet seat the last time I was in his house." He snickered slightly, adding, "His roommate told me that they had to call someone to get him unstuck."

Mark blanched slightly. "You're not allowed in my bathroom."

Paul only smirked, but sobered up a moment later. "Seriously though man, we really need to start working on your people skills. You should come to Boylan's with us tonight. Have a drink or two, maybe loosen up a bit. Help me make fun of Locke as he flubs pick-up lines with women because my boy has no skills whatsoever when it comes to dating,"

"… I'd rather not." Mark said warily.

"See that?" Paul said, abruptly poking him on the nose. He grinned at the scowl he received for the action, shrugging unapologetically. "That right there? That is the kind of attitude I'm talking about, dude! You're kind of a grouch. How do you expect Shannon to fall for such a sour face?"

Mark spoke without thinking. "Seems to be working well enough so far," he snapped defensively, crossing his arms over his chest. He might have been deluding himself, but he thought Maddy was receptive enough to his not so subtle advances.

He still thought it might have been a bit too early to initiate the whole courtship, considering just how short a time they had known each other—it had nothing to do with his fear of Mr. Shannon… nothing at all—but they were definitely more than _just friends_. He wasn't exactly sure what they were at the moment, because he had never really defined it, but _friend _just didn't feel right.

It was too intense for just friendship…

"So you admit it!" Paul crowed loudly, punching the air in success as several people down the street stared at him in bemusement. He seemed completely fine with drawing attention to himself, unlike Mark who hunched his shoulders and drew a hand down his face. "You do like Shannon!"

"Shut up!" Mark hissed quickly, his eyes wide in alarm. He looked around the passersby for any familiar faces, his gut tight with apprehension. The last thing he needed was to have Josh or Mr. Shannon overhear a conversation like this.

"I knew you liked her," Paul chuckled, albeit more quietly than before though not by much. "Which one is she? The girl who works in the orchards? Ooh, no wait! Is she the one from the mess hall? Who, who, who? Tell me! You have to tell me!" He rocked on his heels like an excited child who received their first toy, his hazel eyes bright and earnest as he took Mark by the shoulders and shook him. "Spit it out man! Inquiring minds _need_ to know!"

Mark shrugged him off again, glancing around warily. "Will you please keep your voice down," he pleaded, sighing heavily when Paul shook him again. "Yes, I do like her, but no," He narrowed his own eyes suspiciously. "I am not giving you her name so you can go harass her."

Face falling, Paul pouted at him. "Aw man, seriously? Now you're just being mean. I would never harass her; you, of course, but not her. All girls adore me," He paused a moment later, a thoughtful frown on his face. "Well, all except for one, but she doesn't count because she _loves _me; she just hasn't realized it yet. But dude, I just want to meet her. You know, to see if she's good enough for my boy,"

Mark grimaced as he was punched in the shoulder. He rubbed it gently to alleviate some of the pain from the friendly punch, a bit taken aback by the other's words. "You want to see if she's good enough for me?" he asked in disbelief, wanting to laugh at the absurdity of even the possibility.

If anything, Maddy was _too _good for him.

"Yeah man," Paul nodded. "We're friends, so I have to make sure she isn't going to play you," He wriggled his eyebrows a beat later. "You know, unless you _want _her to."

Despite the way his skin flushed at the suggestion, Mark felt oddly touched. He had to admit that there was something nice about someone his own age calling him their friend. He knew he could rely on Ken and Alicia, but sometimes they made him feel a bit juvenile. He knew it was unintentional; they were older and more mature, therefore they viewed him as a kid brother.

Paul looked older than him by maybe a few years too, and his brash and childish nature made him seem kind of immature for his age, he did seem to have his moments. He treated Mark like he treated Tyler… as a friend. It was refreshing.

Definitely strange though.

Mark sighed a bit, running a hand through his damp hair. "You'll meet her eventually," he told him, well aware that it was bound to happen despite his best efforts. "Just… leave it alone for now, though, okay? Right now she and I are just friends, and she is a bit uncomfortable around people she doesn't know, so…"

For a moment, Paul only observed him. "Okay," he nodded slowly. "I can respect that." He smiled at the disbelieving look he received. "I get it. I do have my moments. Just don't tell Ty. He likes to think he's the sensitive one in our relationship,"

"I'll keep that in mind," Mark snorted in amusement. "Can I go now?"

"There you go again," Paul sighed heavily, shaking his head. "People skills, Reynolds, people skills,"

"Goodbye Paul," he rolled his eyes.

"Offer for Boylan's is still open,"

Mark shook his head. "I don't drink,"

"Boylan's serves more than just alcohol, you know. Order water, eat pretzels and watch some idiots lose at poker. If we see you, we see you," Paul only shrugged. "If we don't it really isn't a big deal. Just thought I'd offer since I saw you."

"Thanks for the offer but…"

"No problem," Paul saluted to him, turning his heel. "See you later, alligator,"

Mark frowned after him thoughtfully. He had never been invited to go anywhere before. It was a bit of a strange experience, although he had no regrets about turning down a trip to the bar. He had never voluntarily stepped foot inside that place and he didn't plan to start now. But it did feel nice to be included, despite the fact that he would never go there.

Continuing toward his destination, Mark was even more anxious to get there than before. He might have been grateful for the invite, but it had only delayed him.

As the house finally came into view, Mark was impressed with how well it had come along since the last time he had seen it. With the exception of one small section of wall in the front, dark blues and warm yellows painted the exterior walls, making the house more uniform with the rest of the community. He was fascinated with the garden around the front porch, actually able to recognize some of the plants by both sight and name.

Maddy would probably be proud to realize she was actually teaching him a few things on their walks through the fields. He had to smile when he saw her; she looked tired but pleased with herself, her hands stained with soil. She looked completely in her element among the plants and the dirt, as if she belonged there with them.

It was extremely convenient to find her alone, but Mark realized that it must have been getting close to dinnertime by now. Everyone else had probably gone inside already, although it appeared as if Maddy had stayed outside to clean up a bit. He approached her quietly, her back turned to him as she gathered little pots and tools.

"Need some help, Miss Shannon?"

Maddy must have grown accustomed to him sneaking up on her. She did not jump out of fright this time, instead turning around slowly after a short pause. Her eyes were bright as she looked him over quickly, a strange flush on her face. He thought it might have been from overexerting herself gardening, but she looked lovely and _real_.

"Help is always appreciated," Maddy said lightly, smiling a bit. "But you don't need to do that."

Mark only smiled, gesturing to the plants beside them. "Your doing, I take it?"

Maddy made a soft sound, tugging at her dirty shirt that might have been white at one point this afternoon. She tilted her head. "How could you tell?"

"It's a gift," he shrugged.

"Sure it is."

Mark could only smile at her. He was incredibly pleased at just how easily she bantered with him now, especially since she also seemed to be enjoying it. He studied her flushed face, slowly lifting his hand to push a curl that had gotten lose behind her ear. Her breathing was low as her eyes watched him.

"You look fine," he promised, watching her duck her head to hide her smile.

"You're sweet," Maddy told him as she looked up. His own cheeks heated at her words, and he only grinned as she said, "But you're a bad liar."

Mark could understand why she would think he was lying, but he honestly loved her like this. He was perhaps a bit biased, because he was pretty sure she could be covered in stink leaves and mud and he would still find her appealing. He really was addicted to her.

Glancing behind her, Mark shook his head free of his thoughts. "I see you missed a spot," he mentioned, motioning toward the unpainted section of the wall. "Why don't you finish up with that and I'll clean up the rest of this?"

As expected, Maddy immediately shook her head. "You really don't have to—"

"I insist."

Mark moved around her before she had a chance to say otherwise, quickly picking up the plastic tubs and containers, stacking them together so he could get as many as possible out of her way. She gave him an exasperated look as he walked passed her again, huffing out a sigh just as he rounded the house. He grinned as he continued to the back.

Just as was walking back after placing everything down near the shed near the backdoor, Mark noticed movement in his peripheral vision from the window of the house. He stood there in panic for a brief moment, before he realized that it was only Mrs. Shannon. She was in the kitchen, probably preparing dinner, and she waved to him when she spotted him.

Mark blushed nervously and waved back at her, wondering just what she must think of him. He was older than Maddy; granted, not by much, but still older. And he had already been with her in what could have possibly been construed as a compromising situation since they had been alone in her house with no supervision to speak of. He knew it had been completely innocent… mostly innocent… but it still unnerved him to try and guess what Mrs. Shannon must have thought about it all.

With a friendly smile that was just a tad too knowing, Mrs. Shannon turned away from the window. He released a breath at her open show of trust and ran a surprised hand through his hair. He felt rather surprised at the faith Mrs. Shannon was showing to leave her daughter alone with him again for any amount of time, although he guessed a lot of it must have been trust in her own daughter.

At least Mrs. Shannon seemed to be receptive to the idea of him.

Maddy was already busy finishing up another task when he returned. She had finished painting the last section of wall and had swept most of the porch.

"See," he said as he climbed the steps. "It goes faster when you have help."

Maddy looked as if she were about to reply, a small smile on her face. She tensed instead, an odd noise escaping her throat as her body gave a sudden shudder. He watched in concern as her eyes widened considerably, her hand quickly rising to clasp a hand over her mouth. He felt his concern grow as it happened again, her big brown eyes clenching shut, and he quickly moved closer.

"Maddy?" he asked urgently, his hands hovering by her shoulders. "Maddy, are you okay?"

Mark glanced to the door of the house, contemplating barging inside to get her mother just in case it was something serious. He was about to do just that when she made the sound again, her shoulders contracting beneath his hands as her body jerked. His panic faded quickly as he realized what it was, unable to hide his amusement.

"Do you have the hiccups Maddy?"

Maddy quickly shook her head, but her denial was lost as she hiccupped once more. He released a strangled laugh, managing to morph it into a cough as he ran his tongue over his teeth. He really wanted to keep from embarrassing her, but it was her reaction more than anything that was making it really difficult for him to keep a straight face.

Mark snorted slightly as she squeaked an odd little noise.

"M—" Maddy began, the tone somewhat annoyed, but she was cut off with another hiccup. "—_ark._"

Mark was unable to keep from laughing any longer after that. It was just too adorable; he bent over and clutched his stomach as she buried her face into her hands. He was still laughing as he leaned closer, peeling her fingers away from her face. "Maddy," he tried, smiling widely as she resisted.

"It's not—" _Hic._ "—funny,"

"… It's _kind of _funny."

Maddy glared at him through her fingers.

"Try holding your breath," Mark suggested as he cleared his throat, trying to keep from laughing at her anymore. She gave him a skeptical look but did as he said. "Count back from ten." She was interrupted not more than three seconds later, this one louder than the rest; he squinted and bit the inside of his cheek in an effort not to laugh again.

Maddy only frowned at him, her eyes betraying her own amusement. She laughed at herself a moment later. She hiccupped again, her hands dropping from her face. "This is hopeless…"

Mark studied her for a moment, listening to each little _hic_ that escaped her throat. He tilted his head curiously, a slow smile spreading across his face as he had an idea. She narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion, and it only made him grin more as he took a step closer to her.

"Maddy," he said lowly. "There is another way to get rid of hiccups,"

"Scaring me?" Maddy said, another jolt going through her.

Mark had a feeling he was probably already scaring her with his mischievous smile, shaking his head slowly. "Are you ticklish, Miss Shannon?" he asked her, watching gleefully as her expression froze. She stared at him as if he as just confessed to murdering small animals, her eyes widening.

_This is going to be fun…_

Maddy took a small step back, shaking her head when he responded by following her. "No," she said evenly, her eyes moving rapidly as she searched for a good way around him. He stepped even closer and her brown eyes glowered at him. "_No._"

Mark only grinned at her, and apparently that was all it took to spur her to run. She spun around with a quickness he had never expected, her hand shooting out to use to smooth beam that supported the roof of the porch to help guide her turn before she sprinted down the road. He was quick to follow her, laughing elatedly as he hurried to catch up.

Laughter echoed down the vacant street from both of them as he chased her. He was pleasantly surprised with just how fast she was, having to push himself harder in order to catch up somewhat. She tried to lose him by turning suddenly between some of the houses, and though it was a good strategy, Mark knew the base a lot better than she did.

Slowing down slightly to let her think she was winning, Mark moved down another path. He quickly weaved around a few buildings and jumped over a small fence before swinging back around. He smirked in success when he noticed that she had paused to catch her breath, her back to him now. He stealthy maneuvered himself directly behind her.

Maddy cried out in alarm when she finally turned around. "No," she said again, her hand held out in front of her to stop him from getting any closer. He only smiled, darting toward her quickly, though not really grabbing at her. She glared at him warningly, obviously aware that he was feigning. "_Mark_,"

Mark reached for her again, this time actually managing to grasp ahold of her wrist. She tried tugging away, twisting as much as she could out of his grasp but he was able to maneuver her around so that he had ahold of her from behind. He wrapped one arm around her to keep her from escaping and used the other to tickle her mercilessly.

Every laugh he managed to elicit from Maddy practically drowned out his own. Her laughter was infectious and real, ensuring him that she was actually enjoying this probably about as much as he was even as she struggled to get away. His hold was lose enough that she could break free if she really wanted to, and he leaned over her shoulder to press their cheeks together as he finally stilled his hand.

Maddy did not attempt to reprimand him for tickling her at all. She merely inhaled a deep breath after laughing so hard and allowed her entire body to relax against him. Her cheek was hot and he could feel the warmth radiating from her back, seeping into him. His fingers twitched at her side; he suddenly felt short of breath himself, the palms of his hands growing slick with sweat.

"Do you hear that?" Mark whispered, not wanting the atmosphere to change.

"… What?"

Mark smiled. "No more hiccups."

Maddy was silent for a moment before she laughed. He pulled her closer with one arm, absently running the other down her side in a soothing motion. "It worked," she murmured incredulously.

"You doubted my methods?"

"I doubted your sanity."

Mark was amused by her dry tone, chuckling slightly before he sighed. He turned his head just enough so he could kiss the side of her head, smiling to himself as she somehow managed to go completely lax in his arms. She seemed very content now, her breathing even and steady as they stood like that for a moment.

It was such a powerful feeling that rose within him. He knew that he grew more and more attached to her as each day passed, but he had honestly never tried to name the emotions. He had never been in love before; he had seen it whenever Alicia looked at the Commander when she thought no one else was watching her. He could see it every time his brother made those stupid little figurines.

Love was painful and heartbreaking… but it felt wonderful.

Mark swallowed hesitantly. "Maddy?"

"Mmm?" she sighed, her head tilting back.

"I…" Mark wavered as he realized he wanted to verbalize his private thoughts to her. He wanted to tell her about everything he had ever experiences. How much he loved holding her like this, safe within his arms, and how much he wished he could keep her forever. "I should probably get you back home," he said instead, because surely it was too soon to tell her anything like that.

"I guess so," she agreed quietly. "I should probably get cleaned up for dinner."

Mark reluctantly allowed his arms to fall way from her, but before he could release her completely she swung around to catch on hand. He was surprised by the action, but smiled as she weaved her fingers between his, interlacing the digits so that their hands were locked together.

Maddy was certainly a lot more comfortably with touching him now than she was before. He thought perhaps she was beginning to trust him more; he honestly wasn't sure which thought thrilled him more. That she was starting to trust him or the fact that she actually wanted to hold his hand of her own accord.

It only took them a few minutes to reach her house and Mark walked her up to the door. He was unable to resist lifting his hands to frame her face, pressing his lips against her forehead. He inhaled slowly as he delayed pulling away, breathing in the scent of herbs and dirt that he liked so much.

Mark pulled away only slightly, turning so he could whisper in her ear instead of look her in the eye. He was sure what little willpower he had would fade the instant he saw her eyes, so close and staring up at him in ways he could barely comprehend. He was intoxicated by her presence.

"Goodnight Miss Shannon," Mark said softly. Maddy was blushing as he backed away, a pleased smile on her face. He smiled at her one last time before he turned around.

It was official. He was in love with Madelyn Shannon.

God help him when her father found out.


End file.
